Breach of War of Hab./vacating apt.

[William Bill]

I moved out before ll cld serve 3-day notice and subsequent Pet for non-pay I stopped paying rent about 6 mos. ago(I received them @new address). There is roach infestation, flooding, blk mold in children's bdrm, etc.

Shld I ask for inspection even though I'm no longer there, and for rent abatement? Also, my lease expires in Sept.will I hve to pay for breaking lease?

Please advise. Thank you

[TenantNet]

If you have already vacated the premises, LL can't seek possession, so he would need to start a proceeding in Cicil Court, not Housing Court. Likely he would seek back rent and remainder of lease. Your defense would probably be warranty of habitability issues - hopefully you have some proof. Otehr questions have been answered in this forum in many places.

[Downtown]

Your defense is constructive eviction based on War of H. You will need to pull together evidence..pics, letters to LL, dates/time/who spoke with etc (a journal), 311 calls.
LL cannot pursue this in HC (as you no longer have possession)...you will need that proof of returning keys, who spoke with, plus the envelopes with address correction on them. You still need to answer asking for dismissal (based on above).
LL could still file in Civil for 6 months back rent and remainder of lease (more likely back rent). Doctor's bills are good.
Start with dismissal and start reading up on constructive eviction and W of H.

[William Bill]

Originally posted by TenantNet:
If you have already vacated the premises, LL can't seek possession, so he would need to start a proceeding in Cicil Court, not Housing Court. Likely he would seek back rent and remainder of lease. Your defense would probably be warranty of habitability issues - hopefully you have some proof. Otehr questions have been answered in this forum in many places.

[William Bill]

Thank you. You mentioned that I need to show proof of returning keys. I haven't returned them yet because I needed to take pictures of the black mold and other conditions. Will possession of the keys affect my case?

[Downtown]

If you still have the keys then you are still in possession of the apt. LL could proceed in HC. Also would have a claim to rent owed.
Your defense is the same. Definitely ask for a continuance until a Housing inspection is performed.
Do you have any proof that LL knew you moved or refused to accept keys.

[William Bill]

Thank you all for responding. Your information was extremely helpful.

I went to Court, explained that I moved out and the Judge's clerk asked whether I had returned the keys. When I said that I still had them because I wanted to broom clean the apt., she said o.k. and asked me to return the keys to the superintendent after I'd finished cleaning. The LL's attorney said that he would discontinue the case because HC was not the proper forum for this action and the Clerk agreed. We have a control date to make sure that I've returned the keys. They said that I didn't have to show up. But I will go to make sure that I get a stipulation of discontinuance.

Thanks again. We really do have to band together!

[Downtown]

Would go asap, take lots of pics and return keys.
In your lease is there a clause for atty. fees. make sure in stip that no fees are included.
Now, comes down to whether LL wants to pursue in Civil Court. You admitted that keys not returned (thus LL did not have possession and could not rerent). If sued in CC, have to be sure that your documentation shows that conditions were such that apt. was unlivable...LL did not respond to requests to fix. If your lease allows for atty fees, this is when (if they win) will be applied.
LL and/or LL's atty. might ask what about rent or give indication of whether this is going to court again. [Keep in mind, CC more interested in contracts.] Might want to think about a settlement offer (especially if you do not have paper documentation...letters, 311 inspections, doctor bill(s)).

[nysrep]

Photos are about your best defence. Take many. Keep negatives. Keep copies. Also, any contracts, leases and the likes. But I would have to concur, from experience, that there might be an attempt to hold you to rent due at least for the period that you held the keys. As already stated here, be prepared to make some sort of amicable arrangement for money that might be sought. Also, be prepared for the fact that the arrangement might not be "amicable". (You might want to bring a zip-loc bag with some of the mold you mentioned... If you can, and if you want, take it for analysis?) In any case, documentation is very important, esp. if the case goes out of TL court. In any event, it's always best not to believe when you're told "You don't have to be there." BE THERE anyway.