Landlord Asking to Vacate Apt

February 1, 2016 3:53 PM

I've been asked to vacate a apt where I'd been renting since July 2015 in one week from today but there's no way I can find a new place to live/storage in the time frame. What are my options? Location: NYC

The landlord mentioned she would have family visiting so I'd need to move out soon. It's a month to month lease and after searching around I found that I'd need a min of 30 days notice but not sure if it'd still apply if I don't have a written contract? I have receipts for all past rent but nothing that indicated I should've been given longer than a week if I needed to leave.

Also, if I do need to leave within a week how should I handle all my possessions/furniture/clothes? I know I'm not able to store them at a relative's house as it's too small and I can't return to my parent's home due to circumstances.

posted by chrono_rabbit to Work & Money (21 answers total)

It absolutely applies. Call 311 and they'll direct you to tenant resources. She can't MAKE you leave any earlier than 30 days. Have you paid Feb rent yet?
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 3:54 PM on February 1, 2016 [11 favorites]

Response by poster: Ruthless Bunny: "It absolutely applies. Call 311 and they'll direct you to tenant resources. She can't MAKE you leave any earlier than 30 days. Have you paid Feb rent yet?"

I've not paid Feb rent yet.
posted by chrono_rabbit at 3:56 PM on February 1, 2016

Call one of these places.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:57 PM on February 1, 2016

I've not paid Feb rent yet.

Doesn't matter. Terminating your lease with 30 days notice vs evicting your for non-payment of rent are two different things. You have 30 days.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:00 PM on February 1, 2016 [10 favorites]

Yeah, it applies, and here's the law, if you're interested: http://codes.findlaw.com/ny/real-property-law/rpp-sect-232-a.html
posted by wintrymix at 4:07 PM on February 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

If you are worried that you won't find somewhere quickly enough, there are storage units that you can rent on a monthly basis to put all your things in. Do you have friends you can crash with until you find a place?
posted by clone boulevard at 4:30 PM on February 1, 2016

I left quickly in this situation and it was a stressful nightmare.

"Sorry, that won't be possible. Also you need to give me 30 days notice by law. Thanks, bye!"

Then start getting your ducks in a row.

Lots of storage places do "first month $1" or "first month $29.99" deals. The last one i used i worked with let you use their truck.

I wouldn't do this on principal just because of the stressfulness and the bullshit of a rushed move. I've had to move in a big hurry more than once and i vowed a few years back never ever ever again. Stick to your guns.
posted by emptythought at 4:38 PM on February 1, 2016 [12 favorites]

I would start with a google search "tenants rights new york city" because your landlord cannot do this. You get 30 days of notice and there are lots of good resources of legal help lines, etc. And although you don't have a written lease agreement, my understanding is that by the virtue of you having lived there this long already, you have rights and protections. She can use the February rent you pay to get her family a hotel room. That's bullshit.
posted by AppleTurnover at 5:00 PM on February 1, 2016

The landlord mentioned she would have family visiting
Yeah, I've heard this one before...

In any case. It's thirty days' WRITTEN notice, just so you know! (But...no need to remind your landlord about the written part, knowwhatImean?)
posted by the_blizz at 5:09 PM on February 1, 2016 [6 favorites]

If she's in a bind, if she can help find you a place for a month rent free or more, perhaps there's a decent arrangement in there. (though a pain in the ass, and just recommended as an alternative approach).
posted by Unsomnambulist at 5:44 PM on February 1, 2016

I might propose:

1. Refund of deposit now
2. You pay movers to pack and move me
3. You pay brokers fee for next place.

Press hard, it makes three copies.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:05 PM on February 1, 2016 [6 favorites]

Best answer: In the US landlord-tenant law is one of the last remaining practice areas with really good resources for people without a lot of money to hire an attorney or for people who really can handle the situation without one. So, first thing tomorrow, find the closest legal aid resource for tenants and call them.

Tonight, gather the copy of your last written lease for this place and all communications you have had with your landlord in the last 90 days, so you can accurately describe the situation to legal aid and answer all their questions. Pay your February rent when it is due. Don't talk to your landlord until you have good advice from a professional in your jurisdiction or from a vetted legal aid resource in your jurisdiction.

Shitty landlords are shitty and speaking as a hopefully not-shitty landlord, I am really sorry your landlord is being shitty. But get your advice from a reputable landlord-tenant resource in your city, not from ask.me. Ask.me often provides well-meaning but potentially damaging advice in these circumstances because landlord disputes are stressful and often unfair.

FWIW, to my knowledge there is no US jurisdiction where you can made to leave your rental apartment in such a short without a court order. Whether your landlord's notice was sufficient for you to have to leave by March 1, I don't know, but I'd suggest you start looking for a new place, right after you talk to whatever tenant's rights group you can reach tomorrow.
posted by crush-onastick at 6:17 PM on February 1, 2016 [3 favorites]

Everyone is right -- 30 days notice directed to the end of the period. In other words, if your rent is due on the first of the month, she can't come to you on the 10th of February and say she needs you out by the 10th of March; in that circumstance, you'd have until the 31st of March. But yeah, no way can she ask you to vacate in seven days.
posted by holborne at 7:54 PM on February 1, 2016

If you're low income, go to lawhelp.org and call every place that comes up for your zip code. You may not find a place that can represent you, but you can get advice about your situation. If you're not low income, memail me, and I can send you a list of private tenant attorneys. (I am a tenant attorney, but I can't give advice here. I do not work and have never worked for any of the private attorneys I might refer you to and wouldn't benefit in any way from the referral.) Also, if you google you'll probably find some good fact sheets about month to month tenancies in NYC.
posted by Mavri at 8:01 PM on February 1, 2016

Response by poster: Looking at the resources I realized I'm a lodger vs tenant since this is a room within a apt. I'm not sure if it still applies for tenant rights then. I'll contact legal aid anyways.
posted by chrono_rabbit at 9:52 PM on February 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Definitely still follow up with legal aid. I'm pretty sure that being a lodger gives them more leeway to discriminate when choosing the new lodger, but won't affect the amount of notice they have to give when evicting you.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 11:31 PM on February 1, 2016

Definitely speak to legal aid/a tenants rights organization/etc. I am not in NYC and am not familiar with the laws there(i mostly know northwest US stuff), but i know that in multiple other cities what matters is residence. People can end up in situations where a hotel can't kick them out without going through the 30 day process in some places.

The fact that you ever had a lease at all is likely a big component of how this will play out, and i wouldn't get too down on your prospects until you get professional advice. I have yet to hear of a place where a week was a legal amount of notice unless it was the city saying "this place is unsafe". Even squatters get more than that seemingly everywhere in the US. I am going to be utterly shocked if you aren't getting totally rolled here.
posted by emptythought at 3:56 AM on February 2, 2016 [3 favorites]

It still applies, but CALL the resources and talk to a human. NYC has some very strange Landlord/Tenant laws, most favoring the tenant/lodger. If you're renting a room in an apartment...you may have even MORE sway than you think because there's a non-zero chance that the landlord is subletting illegally.

The offices open in 90 minutes, CALL!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:23 AM on February 2, 2016 [2 favorites]

Definitely call and get some help on this.

Bear in mind that since NY requires 30-day notice and Feb is a short month, if you were just told about this, you likely don't have to leave until the end of March as your next month-to-month period starts on March 1, less than 30 days from the notice. In fact, if you haven't been given anything in writing, you may not even have been given legal notice yet.
posted by ssg at 5:57 AM on February 2, 2016 [7 favorites]

New York City is an extremely tenant friendly place. It's worth noting that you can't even kick out people sleeping on your couch without notice, much less people who have ever had an actual lease. Your landlord may not know this, but she should. And it's not your problem. Seek legal assistance.
posted by corb at 9:29 AM on February 2, 2016 [3 favorites]

A tenants rights organization will be well-versed on the legal situation for lodgers as well.
posted by mediareport at 5:34 AM on February 3, 2016