Landlord delays move-in

[Mufasa]

My wife and i signed a lease dated May 1st but the landlord has not given us keys or allowed us to move in. The landlord sent us a text message a day before or move-in to tell inform us the prior tenant had not moved out yet and that he had allowed the old tenant another week to move out. Of course we were furious about how the landlord handled this...and another week has now become another two weeks and the likelihood of us moving in is growing less and less likely.

Our questions are:
Can we terminate the lease based on the fact the landlord has not allowed us occupancy per the terms of the lease?
Can we recover both our two months deposit AND the brokers fee from the landlord?
Can we recover additional damages including additional storage fees and temporary housing given the delay?

Thanks

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

What state did this take place in.

Gail

 

[Mufasa]

New York City, New York

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

New York has some tough landlord tenant laws that tend to favor the tenant. If a current tenant doesn't wish to move the landlord cannot toss them out without going through the eviction process...which can be a long process. Thus your new landlord may have their hands legally tied if the current tenant isn't moving out.

Having said that it would not be unreasonable that you could break your lease and get your deposit and brokers fee back. Whether the landlord would agree to pay for your storage fees and temporary housing is doubtful.

Gail