Steven Warren Smollens's Answers

Is the owner of a trailer park responsible for moving a trailer when he is converting the land to commercial use?

Dear Is the owner of a trailer park responsible for moving a trailer when he is converting the land to commercial use? The rights of owners and tenants in New York State in relation to mobile home parks, is located at New York Real Property Law Section 233. As a tenant in a mobile home park you are entitled to a lease for at least a year long period, and the owner is required to renew the lease, unless the owner has a ground in the law, to choose not to offer a renewal lease. You...

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Roommate

Dear Roommate: In order to protect your belongings, and if you hope to see your possessions again, do not waste time. Go to your local police precinct and inform the complaint desk that you were illegally locked out and your "roommate" threatened to throw your possessions away. The police should be able to bring you to the apartment door and allow for you to remove your most important possessions. You should also obtain a restraining order against the roommate to prevent his...

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I live in a 2 family house and there is like 5 family in this house the person i rented from he is just a lease holder

Dear I live in a 2 family house and there is like 5 family in this house the person i rented from he is just a lease holder: From your statements, it is irrelevant the relation that this person has to the building. Even were he a stranger, overt threats of violence are a problem. You surely realize that leaving a voice message with a threat is not appropriate. This person may lodge a complaint and the police may investigate. If charges are lodged, you will need an attorney. You will be...

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The gas in our apartment was off for 5 months, are we entitled to compensation?

Dear The gas in our apartment was off for 5 months, are we entitled to compensation...? In New York City, all residential tenants are guaranteed that the apartment rented will be habitable. Cooking gas for a stove and use of a laundry room, may be considered to be intrinsic to the rental value of the apartment and a loss of both could be determined to be a breach of the statutory warranty of habitability. If you kept receipts for your out-of-pocket expenses for laundry outside of the...

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I rent a room in an apt rent is paid in advance & he is cutting off my use of utilities, claiming they arent included in rent

Dear I rent a room in an apt rent is paid in advance & he is cutting off my use of utilities, claiming they aren’t included in rent: Perhaps I may offer some help. The lack of a written agreement cuts in both directions. The tenant cannot prove that the utilities were not part of the "package price." Your "landlord" is a tenant and likely he has a lease with the true landlord of the building. Look up the building information at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/home/home.shtml and...

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My roommate haven't been paying rent for about 3 month now and refuses to leave the apt. What should I do?

Dear My roommate haven't been paying rent for about 3 month now and refuses to leave the apt. What should I do: You have a serious problem because New York Law may recognize the relation with your roommate as a "Landlord and Tenant" relation if you have a "sublease." Ordinarily, you would not have a "sublease" arrangement with a "roommate" because you need the landlord's permission for a sublease and you do not need the landlord's permission for a roommate. The legal proceeding that you...

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What action can be taken against the renter who refuses to move by the end of an informal agreement?

Dear What action can be taken against the renter who refuses to move by the end of an informal agreement: The "informal agreement" if it contains the material terms required for a lease, is a lease. You should know if the lease contained a renewal option. If there is no renewal option in the lease, the lease ends at the time provided in the lease. If the tenant does not move out when the lease ends, the owner may begin a court proceeding, known as a "holdover" proceeding in the appropriate...

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Haw can i protect my self?

Dear How can I protect my self? Hire an attorney immediately. You are a victim of a criminal (a death threat) who is also your landlord. You need legal protection right now. Generally, a landlord cannot end a lease for a definite term unless the lease provides a ground for an early termination. Even if there were such a provision, all that means is that the landlord possessed a right arising under the lease to issue a notice that acts to terminate your lease upon a certain date. That...

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I need help with understanding a 3 day eviction notice process

Dear I need help with understanding a 3 day eviction notice process: Perhaps I may help. I believe that you are describing a rent demand. A rent demand is a prior requirement for a landlord to start a lawsuit for nonpayment of rent. New York State Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law requires a proper demand for payment of rent in default before the landlord commences a nonpayment summary proceeding. See RPAPL section 711 (2): "...The tenant has defaulted in the payment of...

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Is my landlord allowed to tell me who I can not have in my home?

Dear Is my landlord allowed to tell me who I can not have in my home? In your next rental make sure that you retain an attorney so that the pre-lease verbal agreements you make with your landlord are memorialized in a lease. The verbal assurance from the landlord about babysitting before you became a tenant will not provide any legal right to you. The general notion is that a residence is rented to the tenant and that would include a lawful use by the tenant and the tenant's immediate...

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