Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York
tree falls on shed
I rent an apartment that is in the process of being sold.My problem is that a tree in the backyard of this house fell on my shed.My current landlord refuses to dispose of this tree or at least remove it from on top of my shed.I can't even get into the shed to remove my personal belongings.When we asked her if she was going to remove it,she said NO she doesn't have to.She also said that she rented us the apartment not the yard.We have no lease but made a verbal agrrement that if we wanted to use the yard,we would have to maintain it.What should I do?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: tree falls on shed
Just because you do not have a written lease does not mean that there is no binding contract between the parties. And certainly, this issue has nothing to do with the yard per se. It has to do with the access to the shed. I assume that during the tenancy you always had access to this shed.
Depending on where the apartment is notice of the problem with access to the shed. The notice should state that you do not have access to the shed, that the tree should be removed to give you access to the shed, and that if the landlord fails to remove the tree within a reasonable period of time, you will hire an individual to do the job and hold the landlord responsible for the cost.
The notice should work.