My landlord wants to pay me to leave

[kibbinayye]

Greetings all,

I live in a rent controlled/stabilized (not sure which) apartment in Manhattan. I moved in 5 years ago. My landlord is trying to get all the tenants out. He is very rich. I think he wants to build a skyscraper. The building is 5 floors only, right off 5th Ave in the middle of Manhattan.

Here are my questions:
1) If I don't want to leave, can the landlord make me leave if I'm still paying my rent? Can he get rid of me if enough people leave?
2) How do I know what the landlord wants to do? He says he wants to add a few floors on top of the existing ones...
3) He offered to pay me to leave the apt. How much money is fair for him to pay me or does it depend on what he wants to do with the building?

Thanks in advance.

[Bey]

If you moved in 5 years ago, your apt is most likely stabilized, not controlled. In order for him to get you to leave, he has to send you an official eviction notice from the dept of housing. If you are going to take a pay out, that is another story. If you live in Manhattan, your apt is probably worth a lot, so don't leave for a couple of thousand. There are links on this site that are very helpful which will direct you to the NYC dept of housing preservation. You can get more detailed info as to what your rights are.

[Cranky Tenant]

Just for starters, you should do a search for "Buy-Out" on this forum for past discussions.

What constitures a "fair" amount really depends on how much you're paying now, how much it would cost for a comparable place, and how much it will cost you to move.

[nycat]

What is also important is what you are paying vs. what the place will rent for when you leave. In your case it might be hard to tell (since they claim they wnat to demolish), but if they plan on building a high-rise you can bet it will be much more. The LL was supposedly offering stabilized tenants at the Apthorp on the UWS over $300,000 to move because he was then renting their places out for over $25,000 a month. 300k sounds like a lot until you figure the LL will get it back rather quickly.

[Cranky Tenant]

I couldn't find anything about the Apthorp but I've heard stories about longtime tenants getting $80,000 to $100,000 for rent regulated apartments in the Village.