Tenant at Will - Rental Increase Dispute

[emsaucie]

I am in my rental apt in NYC that my landlord increased my rent by 10% (I was notified of this in March of 2008 - lease expired April 30th). I kept paying my standard rent as we negotiated a potential compromise - I wrote a letter suggesting 2.5% backing up my argument with market data.

Because months had past and I did not hear back from the LL, I simply edited the lease extension they sent me to an increase of 2.5% and sent the appropriate check for the increase of security deposit. Days later (dated June 23rd, 2008), I received a revised extension document agreeing to a 5% compromise. However, when I called to let them know I was okay with this and to disregard my edited draft of 2.5%, they said I tried to defraud them and that they now wanted the 10% increase again, period. A week later I got the original extension again dated March 1st, 2008 with the 10% rent proposed.

I sent two more written requests to agree upon their initially suggested compromise of 5% and did not hear from them. I then got a 30 notice of termination, and subsequently a Notice of Petition Holdover with a set court date.

I have a couple questions.
1. Can the LL change the lease extension with different rental amounts? (suggesting a 10% rental increase, then sending a 5% extension only to send another duplicate 10% increase (back dated to the original 10%)?
2. If I do go to court, am I sure to be evicted given all the proper notice documentation was provided, even though I have continued to pay my rent during this process?
3. If I am evicted, how long would I have to vacate the apartment?
4. Lastly, their lawyer suggested to me the possibility of agreeing to a time-frame for me to move out...could I potentially stay in my apartment another month in order to find another apartment or how does that typically work?


Thanks so much.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

1. In a tenancy at will situation a landlord can raise the rent with 30 day written notice. This is typically not open to discussion with the tenant. If the tenant does not agree with this increase, their option is to provide a written 30 day notice that they are ending the tenancy.

2. If you have not honored this higher rent then yes, it is quite likely that your landlord may win the judgement for eviction for failure to pay the full amount of rent.

3. How soon the eviction will take place is often dependent on how busy the particular local law enforcement is that oversees evictions. With the lousy economy (folks getting laid off and unable to pay their rent) evictions are increasing and law enforcement (in my district it's the Marshalls Office) is quite busy.

4. I'm sorry but you still seem to think that you have some negotiating power over this issue. You don't. Once the eviction date is set, you are out of there (if you haven't moved already). This means that even if you feel you should not have to leave, your furniture, dishes, clothing, etc. are removed, you are escorted out by the law and the locks are changed.

Gail

 

[emsaucie]

Thank you Gail...very helpful. A few follow-ups based on your answers.

1. I have not been evicted yet, so my question about agreeing to a move out date is in the context of agreeing to a date prior to even going to court. The LL's lawyer suggested an alternative to going to court was agreeing to a date to move out...I should have asked him at the time, but am wondering if you ever see the LL agreeing to a move out date possibly a month into the future?

2. If I do go to court...is the only outcome eviction or can we agree to a move out date in front of the judge? Since I am a tenant at will and am evicted, I will not be responsible for any additional rent will I?

3. If I agree to the rental increase, I am assuming I will owe back rent from the date of the lease extension - is this correct?

What would you recommend I do here?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

1. You can try and if your landlord agrees they would need to contact the court to see if the hearing can be postponed.

2. You would owe back rent from the date of the lease extension plus the cost of filing this lawsuit. If you fail to pay this (even if you move out early) your landlord can file another lawsuit against you, this time for the owed rent or they can keep the equivalent amount out of your security deposit for this.

It's important to keep in mind that evictions and judgements for owed rent will go on your credit report and may likely make it more difficult to rent in the future. These things can come back to bite you for years to come (including if you wish to apply for a mortgage in the future).

If it were me and I liked the place, I'd see if I could pay the back rent and the court costs and avoid going to court at all.

Gail