My Aunt (70), Uncle(76) and thier son (29) have lived in the 2nd Floor apt of a 2 family house on Staten Island New York for 21 years. It is a 3 bedroom house and I have moved in about a year ago. They have never had a lease and have paid the rent by check on time every month. Six years ago the original landlord sold the house to the current landlord.
Near the end of Oct 2001 the landlord informed my Aunt that he may be needing the Apt for his brother, who may be moving here from Albania, and inquired as to how much time she would need to move out. She told him that besides the fact that she has lived there for 21 years, she had to go for major surgery on her inner ear on Nov 15, 2001 and that she did not know how long she would need to recover and was not in the frame of mind to be able to determine such a time frame. On the Nov 20, 2001 she was sent a letter of termination for Dec 31, 2001. She told the landlord that she woould not be able to be out by that date and that she needed more time. He declined and said he would take her to court. Which he did. He did not accept rent for Jan 2002 and we were served on Jan 12 for a court date of Jan 16, 2002.
When we arrive in court the landlord's attorney approached us and wanted to try to reach a resolution via stipulation. They asked how much time we needed to move, we told them minimum of 3 months. They agreed but they wanted us to fix a bent backyard fence pole that my Uncle hit 2 years ago(which my uncle offer to fix and the landlord said was it not needed). The aslo wanted to raise the rent from 750.00 to 1100.00. We said that we would not pay an increase and that we were going to ask the judge for an adjournment to seek legal counsel. Turns out the judge dismissed the case without predjudice because the paperwork had the wrong address on it. We left off that we would tried to settle this out of court if we could reach an agreement between lawyers. We went to the legal aid society and we told they can't advise us because the case was in dismissal and we could come back when and if there is a new court date.
I have several questions:
1) In order for the landlord to restart the eviction process does he need to issue us a new letter of termination before he can get a new court date? What should we expect to happen next and in what time frame?
2) How much time does the housing judge usually grant for a tenant given these circumstances to move out?
3) I have been told that after the date of termination is past the rent is now considered Use and Occupancy, and that only the judge can decide what that will be. Is that true? If so, wha tis the usual amount and how is that determined?
4) Should we try to pay the landlord the rent for January 2002?
5) Are we better off going in front of the Judge or settling out of court?
6) Should we get an attorney? If so, can you give us a referral?
Thanks
JAM
Near the end of Oct 2001 the landlord informed my Aunt that he may be needing the Apt for his brother, who may be moving here from Albania, and inquired as to how much time she would need to move out. She told him that besides the fact that she has lived there for 21 years, she had to go for major surgery on her inner ear on Nov 15, 2001 and that she did not know how long she would need to recover and was not in the frame of mind to be able to determine such a time frame. On the Nov 20, 2001 she was sent a letter of termination for Dec 31, 2001. She told the landlord that she woould not be able to be out by that date and that she needed more time. He declined and said he would take her to court. Which he did. He did not accept rent for Jan 2002 and we were served on Jan 12 for a court date of Jan 16, 2002.
When we arrive in court the landlord's attorney approached us and wanted to try to reach a resolution via stipulation. They asked how much time we needed to move, we told them minimum of 3 months. They agreed but they wanted us to fix a bent backyard fence pole that my Uncle hit 2 years ago(which my uncle offer to fix and the landlord said was it not needed). The aslo wanted to raise the rent from 750.00 to 1100.00. We said that we would not pay an increase and that we were going to ask the judge for an adjournment to seek legal counsel. Turns out the judge dismissed the case without predjudice because the paperwork had the wrong address on it. We left off that we would tried to settle this out of court if we could reach an agreement between lawyers. We went to the legal aid society and we told they can't advise us because the case was in dismissal and we could come back when and if there is a new court date.
I have several questions:
1) In order for the landlord to restart the eviction process does he need to issue us a new letter of termination before he can get a new court date? What should we expect to happen next and in what time frame?
2) How much time does the housing judge usually grant for a tenant given these circumstances to move out?
3) I have been told that after the date of termination is past the rent is now considered Use and Occupancy, and that only the judge can decide what that will be. Is that true? If so, wha tis the usual amount and how is that determined?
4) Should we try to pay the landlord the rent for January 2002?
5) Are we better off going in front of the Judge or settling out of court?
6) Should we get an attorney? If so, can you give us a referral?
Thanks
JAM