Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New York
Evicting a tenant from an illegal basement
My father rented a basement apartment to a tenant who refuses to pay rent. The tenant states he is in the process of moving out, but he refuses to pay rent, daring my father to take him to court. I understand that because basement apartments are illegal in NYC we can not pursue this in the conventional way, and the tenant knows this.
My father has already lost 6 months rent, and he is an old man that can not take this sort of stress. I am at the end of my rope, and I am seriously considering breaking into the apartment, changing the locks and leaving him to prove to a judge that he did not move out.
I dont want to have to break the law, but this man is living for free. He does not pay rent or any of the utilities. HELP ME PLEASE!!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Evicting a tenant from an illegal basement
There is another alternative, althought you may not be able to evict your tenant through a standard summary proceeding, you may be able to have him ejected and basically legally evicted in another way that could solve your problems...this area of law does happen to be one of our specialties, however, we would need some more information before making a complete and proper determination. You are welcome to contact us for a free consultation.
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Re: Evicting a tenant from an illegal basement
I can solve this problem.
You may not be able to 'evict this person, but you can 'eject' him.
The 2 actions, evict and eject, are very similar but there are technical differences recognized by the law.
Please set up an appointment by email (later in the day is better because I am often in court).
Andrew Nitzberg
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