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Trying to Evict Tenants from Illegal Basement Apt.

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Trying to Evict Tenants from Illegal Basement Apt.

Postby NYLandLord » Mon Oct 08, 2012 6:10 am

I own a 2 Family home in NYC, i have split my home into separate rooms for weekly tenants. I have a couple living in my finished basement and lately we have not been seeing eye to eye due to repairs I made that they are not happy with. I would like them out ASAP. I would like to take them to housing court but I fear I will be fined for having an illegal rooming house when I do not have it registered as a Multiple Dwelling.

My question is, will I be able to take them to court in a holdover case? Will my case be dismissed? How fast can I get them out?

I heard of something called "ejectment", but I would rather not have to go through civil court and be hit with fines.

There is no lease.

What are my chances of getting out of this with clean hands?

PLEASE HELP!
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Postby TenantNet » Mon Oct 08, 2012 6:37 am

You must be kidding.

Jerk reactions, if tenants think your repairs are shoddy, you want to evict them.

In addition to a possible illegal use of basement, the rooming house arrangement you have is most likely also illegal. Are you overcrowding with recent immigrants?
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Postby NYLandLord » Mon Oct 08, 2012 6:52 am

I tried my best to please them but they are being a nuisance.

I do not have illegal immigrants as tenants, not that I am aware of.
I have a total of 6 rooms in my house (1st & 2nd floor not including the basement apt)

Would I be able to get them out even if they bring this up in court?
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Postby TenantNet » Mon Oct 08, 2012 7:18 am

How are they being a nuisance?
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Postby NYLandLord » Mon Oct 08, 2012 7:41 am

If a make a repair they usually call the same day and say the work was not properly done. They held the deposit from me due to them not agreeing with the quality of work i did in their kitchen.
I am tired of going back and forth with them, they told me the only way I can get them out is through housing court, so here we are.

Will a judge throw my case away?
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Postby TenantNet » Mon Oct 08, 2012 8:32 am

Perhaps the repair you made was indeed not done well or proper. That is often the case.

But their complaining to you is not a nuisance. A nuisance is if they are selling drugs in the apartment, or if they play their stereo loud at 3 AM. Those are nuisances.

Going back and forth with them. That's part of being a landlord, which you freely decided to be. No one forced you to become a landlord. And if might be that you are renting illegal and unsafe premises. If someone dies or was injured due to your negligence, then you might be on the hook for a huge amount.

And yes, you must go through housing court. If you just force people out without getting a court decision, that would likely be a criminal offense, and you could end up in jail.

Why not just do things the proper way?
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Postby ronin » Mon Oct 08, 2012 7:02 pm

:shock: I am shocked!! Absolutely shocked at this thread. :shock:

No, not at the LL trying to get help doing something illegal, but that Tenant didn't just answer with the ever ominous "This is TENANT NET!". LOL!


Ok.
1) You are aware that your house is illegal because you don't have a multiple dwelling registration.
2) If you are renting a basement chances are that you are violating a different law as well.
3) You are also illegally renting on a weekly basis which makes you an unlicensed hotel...

Basically you are doing something shady here. Now in all fairness, probably half the LL's on your block are doing the same thing. Unfortunately, the reality is that this type of illegal housing is very common in private houses.

As far as I'm aware a holdover is not available to you because of your illegal status on any vector. Ejectment is not cheap. It is very complicated and goes to Supreme Court and takes a good long while.

What I recommend to you is that you be as reasonable as you can in dealing with your tenants. It sounds like they even pay their rent. In your situation you want to keep the flow of normalcy. In the future legalize your building (if you can) and clean up your act.

You should reread Tenant's points very carefully. He is making excellent points. Take them to heart and think about them.

Lastly, your goal should be how to keep your rooms rented, not how to get rid of paying tenants. Think about it!

IMHO
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Postby NYLandLord » Wed Oct 10, 2012 12:10 am

ok well sorry if I came across like a crook on tenant.net but I figured i can come here to ask questions regarding my tenants.

my main concern is if the judge will dismiss my holdover case.

i guess i can pay them to move but I want to know if i should wait or not
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Postby TenantNet » Wed Oct 10, 2012 6:34 am

Can't find that shift key?

You never said what the basis of the holdover was. But it sounds as if you haven't a clue about being a landlord. Perhaps you should not be in the landlord business.
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Postby ronin » Thu Oct 11, 2012 1:00 am

:shock: I'm still in shock here. I have nothing more to say. :shock:
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Postby TenantNet » Thu Oct 11, 2012 1:10 am

i'm shocked that he can't capitalize sentences!
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