---

Posted by me again on February 07, 2002 at 23:17:17:

In Reply to: Help! posted by nycmo on February 07, 2002 at 19:13:24:

: I live in a 2 family house. My landlord owns all 3 houses on my side of the block. I never have heat on the regular becuase, the thermostat is contolled by the tenants downstairs. Is this illegal? I constantly have to turn on a electric heater and now my electric bill went up. I have spoken to my landlord many times and he just laughs in my face. He has raised my rent this year , due to what he calls "maintence increses" The only increase is what he wants in his pocket i think.

: I dont know what to do, because I have no lease, I never have in the 2 years living here. He has threatned to throw me out on the street, and Im afraid that will happen as My wife and I are on a low income and have bad credit. What kind of options do I have? Can he throw me out. A freind told me he has to give me 3 months, is this true?

first things first, without a lease, neither you nor the landlord have any legal obligation to each other past the next rental period.
you are not obligated to stay to rent from him, and he is not obligated to rent the place to you. period. i have NEVER heard of a case of 'retaliatory non-renewal' actually standing up in court, and doubt very seriously that tenantnet can come up with one either, to use their own terms, tn is just making noise.
your friend is incorrect in stating the landlord has to give you three months notice. if there is some sort of agreement in writing between you and the landlord regarding the tenancy, check it out, it is probably the only thing that *may* override the standard 30-day notice requirement for a non-controlled/stabilized apartment.
as far as the heat is concerned, *not* having control of the thermostat in your apartment is pretty common in older homes which are not set up for multiple zones and meters. you should check the heat guidelines for nyc, but they are pretty basic, and may not offer you much help. if you think about it for a minute, odds are, that your apartment is probably warmer than the one downstairs due to the fact that heat rises, so if you're cold, the guy downstairs must be freezing. talk with him, and see if you can work something out with him, if neither of you pay for the heat, i can't see him complaining any about raising the temp a few degrees. you might also see whatever you can do to allow the natural flow of the heat, maybe open a door or something to somewhere in the building where it is warmer.
now, for the big picture: your landlord is an ass. he doesn't care if you stay there or not, and he has told you so. you should probably make every effort you can to get out, since the 'unknown' of whether he will renew your lease for the next 30 days will be hanging over you until you do. sorry i can't be much more help than informative, but that's life without a lease.

Follow Ups:

• Re: good advice Blue Zephyr 02/08/02 (5)
  • Re: good advice TenantNet 02/08/02 (4)
    • Re: good advice Blue Zephyr 02/08/02 (2)
      • Re: good advice me again 02/09/02 (0)
      • Re: good advice TenantNet 02/08/02 (0)
    • Re: good advice me again 02/08/02 (0)

---

Note: Posting is disabled in all archives
Post a Followup

Name    : 
E-Mail  : 
Subject : 

Comments:
: : I live in a 2 family house.  My landlord owns all 3 houses on my side of the block.  I never have heat on the regular becuase, the thermostat is contolled by the tenants downstairs.  Is this illegal?  I constantly have to turn on a electric heater and now my electric bill went up.  I have spoken to my landlord many times and he just laughs in my face.  He has raised my rent this year , due to what he calls "maintence increses"  The only increase is what he wants in his pocket i think.  

: : I dont know what to do, because I have no lease, I never have in the 2 years living here.  He has threatned to throw me out on the street, and Im afraid that will happen as My wife and I are on a low income and have bad credit.  What kind of options do I have?  Can he throw me out.  A freind told me he has to give me 3 months, is this true?

: first things first, without a lease, neither you nor the landlord have any legal obligation to each other past the next rental period. 
: you are not obligated to stay to rent from him, and he is not obligated to rent the place to you. period. i have NEVER heard of a case of 'retaliatory non-renewal' actually standing up in court, and doubt very seriously that tenantnet can come up with one either, to use their own terms, tn is just making noise. 
: your friend is incorrect in stating the landlord has to give you three months notice. if there is some sort of agreement in writing between you and the landlord regarding the tenancy, check it out, it is probably the only thing that *may* override the standard 30-day notice requirement for a non-controlled/stabilized apartment. 
: as far as the heat is concerned, *not* having control of the thermostat in your apartment is pretty common in older homes which are not set up for multiple zones and meters. you should check the heat guidelines for nyc, but they are pretty basic, and may not offer you much help. if you think about it for a minute, odds are, that your apartment is probably warmer than the one downstairs due to the fact that heat rises, so if you're cold, the guy downstairs must be freezing. talk with him, and see if you can work something out with him, if neither of you pay for the heat, i can't see him complaining any about raising the temp a few degrees. you might also see whatever you can do to allow the natural flow of the heat, maybe open a door or something to somewhere in the building where it is warmer. 
: now, for the big picture: your landlord is an ass. he doesn't care if you stay there or not, and he has told you so. you should probably make every effort you can to get out, since the 'unknown' of whether he will renew your lease for the next 30 days will be hanging over you until you do. sorry i can't be much more help than informative, but that's life without a lease.   


Optional Link URL:  
Link Title:         
Optional Image URL: 

---