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Roommates kicked me out with 14 days notice is this illegal?

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Roommates kicked me out with 14 days notice is this illegal?

Postby Kiwinikki » Tue Nov 05, 2019 7:24 pm

I was living in NY with my two roommates who also happened to be my best friends. Their names were on the lease to the apartment and I just Venmo’d one of them each month to pay my rent. My name was not on the lease and we had no signed lease agreement. I got my mail at the apartment , even government documents so I have proof I resides there.. In the middle of November they randomly kicked me out of their apartment with no explanation and they only gave me 14 days to move all of my furniture and get out with no official statement for me to leave. I was the only one that cleaned, I paid rent and bills before they were due and I was barely there because I travel for work. I was wondering if there’s anything illegal about how hey kicked me out and if there’s anything I could do about it?
Kiwinikki
 
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Re: Roommates kicked me out with 14 days notice is this ille

Postby TenantNet » Tue Nov 05, 2019 8:54 pm

Please answer these questions:
How long did you live there? Did you ever ask for a lease?
What is venmo?
Is this in NYC?
Did you have a deposit (did you get it back?)
You said "in the middle of November" ... did you mean October or November from a prior year?
Did they give you a written notice? Do you still have it?
What would you like to see happen ... do you want to go back? Do you want some compensation? Do you want to file a law suit against them? Or an illegal eviction?
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Re: Roommates kicked me out with 14 days notice is this ille

Postby Kiwinikki » Tue Nov 05, 2019 9:19 pm

Hi! It’s in NY i meant October, but I lived there for 6 months and I never asked for a lease since they were my friends. Venmo is an app to electronically pay people. I didn’t have a deposit and they didI not give me any form of a written notice, they came to me on October 17th in person and told me I needed to be out by November 1st. I don’t want to come back I just wanted to know if they broke any laws or if I could file a lawsuit against them? Or if it’s an illegal eviction? I lost a lot of money after I just bought all new furniture and couldn’t find a new apartment in time. I just want to know if it broke any laws or if I have any grounds to go against them.
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Re: Roommates kicked me out with 14 days notice is this ille

Postby TenantNet » Tue Nov 05, 2019 9:35 pm

Do you mean NYC or NYS (we can't read your mind). The rules might differ if you're beyond city limits.

Unlike checks or money orders, with apps there is often a lack of a paper trail, and also in physical delivery of the money.

The rules for notice depend on if you were a roommate (AKA licensee) or a month-to-month tenant/subtenant. There is often overlap and confusion between the two, and depends on the facts of the situation. As a roommate they were required to commence a licensee proceeding in housing court. A month-to-month tenant in NYC requires a 30-day written notice, and served on the tenant by using a process server (RPAPL 735). This was a new provision in the law, effective 10/12/19. See details at https://works.bepress.com/gerald_lebovits/340/

There is some ambiguity here and you could have gotten a better answer from a tenant attorney who is given all the facts.

In our view, they took the law into their own hands, which is illegal. But it's already done. You might have been able to do something if you were still in occupancy. File a suit against them? I'm not sure (we are not lawyers). You would have to show some damages. If you are out a bunch of money, I would consult with a tenant attorney to see if you have any options.
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