silverfoxyone
New Member
I have a non-rent controlled, co-op owned, apartment in NYC (has about 16 units total in the building). I have lived in it since October 2006. It is maintained by a "Housing Board" of tenants and rent is collected by a "Management Agency". This management agency says that they are just a company that collects money for rent- the Housing Board makes all the rules, sets the price of rent, and determines who gets to live there.
My lease expired May 31, 2008 and I have since been on a month-to-month basis. I was verbally told in January of 08 that upon termination of my lease I would be offered to purchase the apartment. I thought about the idea and the proposed price they told me it would be and figured it was a good investment.
I am a frequent world traveler. In the past 18 months I have been to 15 countries. The housing board was told of my frequent traveling and told to contact me via email or contact my roommate (my brother) if there were any issues while I was gone. The first week of April, two days before I was scheduled to be on a flight to Asia and gone for 4 months, I was given a notice of "purchase the apartment by May 31st or your rent will be doubled."
I wrote back to the Housing Board (as we had a good relationship) and expressed to them that I was leaving for some 4 months time and would not be able to complete the process of purchasing until my return in August. At that time, I would be happy to purchase. I also informed them that I was not so inclined to pay double what I had been paying for a year and a half and would continue with my set rent until my return to purchase. They did not respond to me with anything in letters, phone, or email.
Upon my return in early August, I was in constant written communication with them regarding the purchasing of the apartment. After about a month of written communication, they stopped writing and would not set up a meeting with the Housing Board and myself to get the purchasing of the apartment completed. After hearing some things that were said between the Management company and my brother, I realized they did not wish for me to purchase the apartment any longer.
Thus, I wrote a letter and told them I would be moving out by the end of the month, end of September 2008. Today is October 1st. I have moved out of my apartment. This past weekend, however, I was served with papers saying that "my monthly contract is being terminated" and need to leave the residence by October 31. I am obviously fine with that as I have already moved out of the apartment. My brother on the other hand is not so keen on leaving.
My brother (my roommate for the past 2 years) is very upset at the way the Housing Board has handled all of our requests for meetings, and lack of information needed to purchase the apartment. He was told that the Housing Board chose to "double" our rent because they were upset with our frequent traveling schedule.
So, my question today is this: My name is the only name on the lease. It states that I can not have any roommates other than family members (thus, my brother). My brother wants to stay in the apartment until he gets evicted. He says that they cannot technically do anything to me since I left before Oct 31. If they press charges and/or evict anyone, it will be under His name, and not mine.
I have tried to do as much research as possible with NYC tenant/landlord laws.
1) I found that after the termination of a lease and a tenant stays on for month-to-month contracts (as I did) that both parties must agree to the amount set. I did not agree to the new monthly amount set, and was never thus told to move out due to not agreeing to this new amount.
2) I found that I should have given 30 days notice and I only gave 20 days notice. Thus, probably the reason they told me to leave the end of October.
3) I asked for my security deposit back in my letter stating that I had moved out. I found that unless I did not pay rent or left damages to the apartment I am entitled to my security deposit back. I'm guessing they will keep it for October's rent.
I have turned in keys with a letter sent via certified mail saying that I have vacated the premises. I cannot find anything related to what happens to the person who's name is on the lease (in this case only mine) and had a roommate or family member living in the apartment who chooses not to leave. If my brother does not leave the apartment will I be prosecuted in any way? Or will they just go to a court to get him evicted?
I have since relocated back to my home-town in Idaho and being taken to court or anything would be a huge deal in getting back to New York City.
My lease expired May 31, 2008 and I have since been on a month-to-month basis. I was verbally told in January of 08 that upon termination of my lease I would be offered to purchase the apartment. I thought about the idea and the proposed price they told me it would be and figured it was a good investment.
I am a frequent world traveler. In the past 18 months I have been to 15 countries. The housing board was told of my frequent traveling and told to contact me via email or contact my roommate (my brother) if there were any issues while I was gone. The first week of April, two days before I was scheduled to be on a flight to Asia and gone for 4 months, I was given a notice of "purchase the apartment by May 31st or your rent will be doubled."
I wrote back to the Housing Board (as we had a good relationship) and expressed to them that I was leaving for some 4 months time and would not be able to complete the process of purchasing until my return in August. At that time, I would be happy to purchase. I also informed them that I was not so inclined to pay double what I had been paying for a year and a half and would continue with my set rent until my return to purchase. They did not respond to me with anything in letters, phone, or email.
Upon my return in early August, I was in constant written communication with them regarding the purchasing of the apartment. After about a month of written communication, they stopped writing and would not set up a meeting with the Housing Board and myself to get the purchasing of the apartment completed. After hearing some things that were said between the Management company and my brother, I realized they did not wish for me to purchase the apartment any longer.
Thus, I wrote a letter and told them I would be moving out by the end of the month, end of September 2008. Today is October 1st. I have moved out of my apartment. This past weekend, however, I was served with papers saying that "my monthly contract is being terminated" and need to leave the residence by October 31. I am obviously fine with that as I have already moved out of the apartment. My brother on the other hand is not so keen on leaving.
My brother (my roommate for the past 2 years) is very upset at the way the Housing Board has handled all of our requests for meetings, and lack of information needed to purchase the apartment. He was told that the Housing Board chose to "double" our rent because they were upset with our frequent traveling schedule.
So, my question today is this: My name is the only name on the lease. It states that I can not have any roommates other than family members (thus, my brother). My brother wants to stay in the apartment until he gets evicted. He says that they cannot technically do anything to me since I left before Oct 31. If they press charges and/or evict anyone, it will be under His name, and not mine.
I have tried to do as much research as possible with NYC tenant/landlord laws.
1) I found that after the termination of a lease and a tenant stays on for month-to-month contracts (as I did) that both parties must agree to the amount set. I did not agree to the new monthly amount set, and was never thus told to move out due to not agreeing to this new amount.
2) I found that I should have given 30 days notice and I only gave 20 days notice. Thus, probably the reason they told me to leave the end of October.
3) I asked for my security deposit back in my letter stating that I had moved out. I found that unless I did not pay rent or left damages to the apartment I am entitled to my security deposit back. I'm guessing they will keep it for October's rent.
I have turned in keys with a letter sent via certified mail saying that I have vacated the premises. I cannot find anything related to what happens to the person who's name is on the lease (in this case only mine) and had a roommate or family member living in the apartment who chooses not to leave. If my brother does not leave the apartment will I be prosecuted in any way? Or will they just go to a court to get him evicted?
I have since relocated back to my home-town in Idaho and being taken to court or anything would be a huge deal in getting back to New York City.