Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New York

We are two months behind in our rent. We have been paying the landlord off little by little. Now he is threatening to turn off my lights and telling me that i have to leave in 20 days. We have been living there for three and a half years. He doesnt fix the apartment. I have mold issues in my bathroom. None of my windows open properly. and the ceiling in the hallway is about to cave in because of a leak that happend about six months ago and the light switch because of that leak is shorting out. I need to know what my rights are as far as this situation is. Im not going to let him stronghold us. We do not have a lease we are paying him month to month. Is this legal?


Asked on 7/28/09, 1:03 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Markowitz Michael A. Markowitz, PC

No. What the landlord wants to do is not legal. Turning off the electric - or heat, or removing doors, etc. - is a self-help eviction. To evict the landlord must commence a summary proceeding and obtain a Judgment of Possession and Warrant of Eviction.

Mike.

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Answered on 8/03/09, 8:23 am


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