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Should we have a lease?

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Should we have a lease?

Postby carlkinas » Wed Mar 06, 2002 5:47 pm

My two friends and I have been living without a lease in a Brooklyn apartment for just over a year. Our landlord refuses to give us a lease, saying it benefits both him and us not to have one. However, 7 months after moving in he raised our rent, and after that still refused to give us a lease locking in our rent for any amount of time. Also, over the past year he has yet to complete any of the repairs we've asked him to do.

My two questions:
1. Can we force him to give us a lease?

2. How can we get him to make the repairs? Polite, but firm letters (3 of them) haven't worked. For the amount we pay we should not have to live with things not being repaired. I feel without a lease he doesn't have to do a thing for us.

<small>[ March 06, 2002, 04:49 PM: Message edited by: carlkinas ]</small>
carlkinas
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Mar 06, 2002 2:01 am
Location: Brooklyn

Re: Should we have a lease?

Postby <Tina> » Wed Mar 06, 2002 6:01 pm

Force him to give a lease? No, not unless the unit is supposed to be regulated. If the building is six or more units, built before 1974 and not a coop, there's a good chance the unit should be regulated.

Repairs -- withhold rent. Document the repairs needed with photos, write a certified letter. There's a lot you can do, but be aware he can also terminate your month-to-month "lease" with 30-days notice. Call the inspectors if needed.
<Tina>
 

Re: Should we have a lease?

Postby carlkinas » Thu Mar 07, 2002 1:31 pm

Tina: Thanks for your advice. The building is not a co-op, I'm not sure when it was built, and it has three units. I guess that means it doesn't have to be regulated, according to your outline. And therefore a lease is not something he's required to give us.

Second -- and this goes along with the repair question -- how do I know what rights I DO have in this situation without having a piece of paper that spells them out? Can he really throw us out with a month's notice for asking him -- via certified letter, inspector visit, etc. -- just to make simple repairs?
carlkinas
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Mar 06, 2002 2:01 am
Location: Brooklyn


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