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Can I rent after being non renewed?

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Can I rent after being non renewed?

Postby LINYbob » Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:18 pm

My LL refused to renew my lease after one year of residence. I live in a large complex on LI owned by a corporation. I am divorced, and have my 11 and 13 y/o boys over to visit 2X a month, and also 2X a week. I live in the upstairs of a two floor building, and the lady downstairs complained of "excessive" noise a couple of times when the kids came to visit. The complaints were of them playing on Sunday afternoons, jumping, laughing.

The noise was NOT excessive - I was with them at all times and quieted them down immediately whenever they started making any noise. And they are never up past 8:30pm. But whatever.

So I found another place nearby to rent. But it is very small and inconvenient compared to where I am now.

My question is, if I show up at the complex's office a year from now and ask to rent - could they refuse to rent to me? There are other kids in the complex, and they have been over to play with my kids and are much noisier than my kids, yet they are allowed to LIVE in the complex. So would the complex have grounds to refuse to rent to me since I was non renewed once? Or would that be discrimination?
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Postby TenantNet » Sat Mar 19, 2011 3:22 am

You imply that you have left the complex. Not renewing a lease does not necessarily mean you have left; you could have become a month-to-month tenant.

You don't say whether or not you had a carpet to dull some of the noise. Granted, kids doing what kids do mid-afternoon might not be excessive, but on the other hand, people have differing levels of sensitivity. Did the landlord state the noise was the reason for non-renewal? And realize that having kids is one thing, but noise - real or perceived - is not the same thing.

Of course a LL can refuse to rent to anyone for almost any reason, as long as it isn't one of those reasons specified in the Fair Housing Laws. Usually that means race, color, religion, gender, national origin and so on. It can also include disability or family status, and that can include children. However, some rental complexes get around that by being specified for adults only. In those cases there are specific requirements. For example a retirement complex for seniors might qualify. Here is one information sheet(not NY).
But in your case you state that others in the complex have kids, so it's unlikey that is the sole reason for the non-renewal.

I just typed "Fair Housing" into Google and came up with a long list of informational sites and agencies that can better explain the specifics of coverage than we can. You would have to give them specifics of what reasons were specified (if any - and none are required) in the case of non-renewal. More over, for future renting, they can't speculate what might happen. There would have to be proof. They usually send out testers for that.
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Postby LINYbob » Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:40 am

I am still in the complex - leaving next Saturday. I was not allowed to become a month to month tenant.
The complex sent me a letter simply stating that they were not allowing me to renew the lease. No reason was given.

The complex is not adults only. It is advertised as family friendly.

I always paid my rent on time.

I am certain I am being non renewed because the tenant downstairs heard my kids playing on a few Sunday afternoons.
I tried exceptionally hard to keep them quiet but they are not goldfish and did play in the place.

The floors are carpeted, we kept the TV volume very low or they used headphones. We tiptoed in the apartment and most weekend went out of town anyway. She just hated kids and the management stuck with her. I offered to swap apartments or move to another in the complex and they refused.

The building is not built all that well and she probably could hear us talking or walking. But I believe we are entitled
to normal living. I guess not.

I have filed a discrimination complaint with HUD. There are other kids living in the complex who are much noisier. Several live in top units too.

The manager told me that since I had kids, I never should have asked to rent a top floor unit. I feel more secure and safer and have more privacy on the top and that is why I asked for a top floor unit. They did not tell me the tenant on the ground level was sound sensitive either!

Unfortunately there is very little available in this area, which is why I am considering what would happen if I tried to rent next year when the lease on my new place is up.
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