The woman who I was renting from sometimes stays in the house when she is in town but otherwise she find short term renters to stay which is why it's confusing about whether it's a "sublet" or "roommate" situation.
I was meant to move in June 12 and stay until December 15. I was meant to sublet from the lease-holder until August when she told me she intended on moving completely and that I could take over the whole apartment and find roommates if needed. The entire agreement was made in good faith over voice notes on whatsapp and I paid my deposit of a months rent $1500 using Venmo.
The day came to move in and everything went fine, the host left the key by the door and I let myself in. I received the wifi information and some house details from her. Upon arriving, I met someone who was apparently staying there who she did NOT to me (later found out it was her friend), and the other long term roommate. I unpacked my belongings and put my kitchen supplies in the kitchen. I decided the floor could use a mop so I vacuumed and mopped and even washed the inside and outside windows because they were pretty grimy.
The following day, (I had one sleep at this point) the 'host' let me know that she would be showing up to fix a lamp. I thought that was fine since she gave me notice and figured I could ask some questions about the place seeing as I hadn't run into anyone in the space but twice in my 1 day stay so far. When she arrived, she immediately started picking everything apart and complaining that I didn't put my items in the 'correct' spots where things 'live', that I need to ask her when I don't know where to put things.
A few things she yelled at me about:
- I had used the mop bucket to mop and put it back underneath the cabinet after I let it air dry on the sink for 12 hours. It was full of a bag of towels and a few empty glass bottles that were used for cleaning supplies and seemed like it hadn't been touched in years. She was shaking in a fit when she said I did not 'put the bucket back right', said she didn't know what to do when things were not in their right space, claimed that there had to be order to the way things were done. There was a very old expired bottle of wood floor cleaner with about 1/2 inch of completely solidified liquid that I tossed into the trash right next to the sink that she found and asked me what it was doing in the trash. I showed her that it was solidified and expired and she stared blankly without responding. I had put my spray bottle of rubbing alcohol underneath the sink along with other communal cleaning items because I use it to wash glass and she grabbed it and threw it aside, saying "I don't know what this is".
- The step ladder I used to wash the windows (I thought this was a nice thing for me to do) that was stored in my room's closet was still out and she said it could not be just sitting out in the common area because it's shared space.
- I bought a box of seltzers and was only able to store 3 of them in the mini fridge that was made available for the 3 housemates to use. She said that "I cannot just put the box to the right of the fridge, that is where the (very broken) broom lives" , that I was to unload them into the fridge and find storage for the rest of the cans elsewhere as she proceeded to do a tutorial of how to unload drinks into a refrigerator.
- A towel was left hanging in the bathroom ( it wasn't even mine!) and she told me it could not exist there incase she wanted to come in and hang her towel up.
- I had a box of kitchen supplies sitting in the common area pushed aside as I was waiting to talk to the other roommate about how we could organize our supplies at a later time. We had discussed this in our one time meeting. She threw a fit about this.
I was still in the process of moving in and found the whole situation really off putting and scary, especially considering she doesn't LIVE there. I reached out to a friend who knows another former renter and received the advice to leave immediately. Another friend of a friend heard my story and immediately knew who I was talking about and was really sorry for my situation. Another community member regarded this home as having the "highest turnover rate in the Rockaways".
Actions I've taken:
- I've asked for my refund for the remainder of my stay, claiming that it felt very unsafe and that I didn't have access to what I was paying rent for. In texts she has refused to pay my refund.
- I've started a claim with Airbnb since she shared her contact info there which I didn't realize was against terms.
- I started a claim with Venmo - they gave me contact information for local enforcement to communicate with them once I figure out who I should contact.
- I also made a complaint with the Department of Buildings because she was illegally airbnbing a home she does not own as a short term rental.
Is there anything else I can do in order to get my $1,500 back? Or even a sum of that, considering I lasted 2 whole nights before I vacated. I did pay this woman $1,500 for a place to live and am now displaced. I would consider taking this to small claims court if needed.