Hi,
My fiance recently was told by his landlord that the house he is living in has been sold to another owner. It's a 2-family house, with he living in one part of the house and another family living in the other. The new owner wants all tenants out immediately.
He did have a lease but it ended in Jan. He kept asking the old landlord for a new one but the landlord kept dragging his feet. He now believes that is because the landlord was in the process of selling the house but didn't want to say anything.
My fiance told the new landlord that he needs some time to find a new place and asked if he could have at least 90 days. The new landlord seemed fine with it - everything was done verbally about 3 weeks ago.
This morning, my fiance received court papers via certified mail to report to Queens Housing Court tomorrow. The landlord wants him and the other tenants evicted. My fiance is up to date on his rent so this is being presented as a holdover case.
Wasn't the landlord supposed to serve the tenants in person prior to mailing the papers via certified mail?
Does my fiance have any rights and a solid case to fight this? He is willing to vacate the house but just needs time to find a new place. Can he evict all the tenants immediately like that? Also, can it be stipulated that no reporting of this agreement be made public record as that would actually hurt my fiance when looking for a new place to live?
The old landlord never told my fiance that he was selling his house beforehand. He told him once the house was sold, that there was a new owner and that owner wants all the tenants out immediately.
Thanks in advance!