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NOT SURE WHAT TO DO - LEASE BREAK AND MUCH MORE

NYC Housing Court Practice/Procedures

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NOT SURE WHAT TO DO - LEASE BREAK AND MUCH MORE

Postby nyctenant555 » Mon Oct 26, 2015 3:00 pm

THE SITUATION
• I have been in my (once-rent-stabilized) apartment for close to 5 years
• Every year I have been sent a one-page paper where I check off whether I wants to renew or not, and then sign the document
o This last time (in JULY 2015) I signed the document, but I did not check off whether I wanted to renew or not; as a result of not checking off either option, the management company sent me the paper back (FLY IN OINTMENT) to check off ... I still have not checked anything off to this date
• In August, I called the management company and let the management company know that as a result of the FLY IN OINTMENT (above) I had thought I was going on a month-to-month lease, and that I wanted to NOT continue with a "standard" lease agreement as I had been for the past few years
- The management company told me that “it doesn’t matter, even though you didn’t check it off, you still renewed the lease; we assume you want to renew the lease” … even though technically, they don’t have it on paper contractually (MY BELIEF)
- Technically, I don’t have a lease renewal as far as I’m concerned, but regardless, we I still took accountability and said I would help the management company look for someone to take over the apartment, as they agreed to do the same (as is in the lease)

THE MANY ISSUES
Vacating vs. Tenant Occupied Showing
• The management company said they wouldn’t show the apartment without having me turn over my keys first; they said “it should only take 2-3 days for us to clean the apartment, since it’s in good condition and maybe a few more days for it to be rented – you just need to surrender the keys for us to be able to show it” … and naively, I believed them

NO INCENTIVE
• I believe that since they have no incentive (because they think they have a signed paying tenant either way), they asked me for the keys and said they wouldn't show the place because they didn't want to deal with working around my schedule
• In reality, I believe the management company would have started showing it tenant-occupied IF the lease were to be ending regularly, meaning, if they knew we weren’t going to renew in the last 2 months, they would have shown the apartment with us in it, because then THEY would be on the hook
• Essentially, there is no difference in the time it takes them to do the cleanup, paint and list the apartment; it’s not because I was in the apartment that they can’t show the apartment … and they would have to do these things regardless – there’s simply no reason they needed to do it post us vacating the apartment

ADDITIONAL ITEMS
- I notified them that I was planning to move out on SEPTEMBER 7th, 2015
- I was bullied into surrendering the keys on OCTOBER 1st 2015 when they could have shown the apartment tenant-occupied from SEPTEMBER 7 - OCT 1; there was no reason they needed the apartment to be vacated

As a result of them telling me to rush and vacate the apartment (“before it could be shown”) on OCTOBER 1st - I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO HAVE ACCESS TO AN APARTMENT I HAVE BEEN PAYING FOR, AND HAVE LOST MONEY ON SEVERAL FRONTS:
• NO INTEREST: the place has not garnered interest from brokers and prospective tenants because they cannot envision the space (I have proof from both brokers and tenants asking for pictures of the apartment setup to show the possibilities being much more helpful than an empty sitting unit)
• MOVING COSTS: throwing things away and rushing to purchase other things sooner than I would have needed to (should they have shown the apartment a month in advance tenant-occupied)
• LIVING: I have had several friends and family stay at other places, including hotels, when they could have stayed in the apartment
• SUBLETTING: I could have been having someone sublet, legally for 1 month or more

Instead, I have been:
- Essentially paying for every day that went by while the management company took their sweet time to "clean the apartment and rent it," to which:
• They have only advertised via Urban Edge, and started advertising OVER A WEEK AFTER OCT.1 (when we vacated ... around October 8th)
• They supposedly use "brokers"
• I have been the one putting ads on Craigslist and directing people to the management company

AS A RESULT OF MY ADVERTISING ON CRAIGSLIST, RE SHOWING THE APARTMENT TO PROSPECTIVE TENANTS:
• From advertising via Craigslist, I have documented messages from prospective tenants telling me the apartment is in disarray when they go to view it (weeks after I moved out – refrigerator moved into the center of the unit; paint cans everywhere; stove moved, etc...apparently this cleanup that took over a week wasn't so great)
• The management company said they would direct people that I sent to them to the on-site live-in superintendent who would kindly show prospective tenants the place ... I have numerous proof emails of prospective tenants telling me they can’t get in contact with the super because he never answers his phone to set up an appointment, or that he tells them he doesn’t work on the weekends (when are people supposed to see the place?)
• The management company told me they would take on 3 applications at a time, when in fact they only took one at a time: the first one they took they didn’t take a deposit for (unheard of in NY), and didn’t ask the person if they had the credit score, 40x rent, pay stubs, etc.; they then sat on this application for a week (when average time to process an application is 2-3 days?) and ultimately rejected this person, while I have proof of emails that other people were interested in putting in an application, but were turned away because "an application was in"
• The second application from a 47 year old person working for the UN they wouldn’t take because the person was coming from “out of the nation,” and demanded a year’s rent up front, even though the person had credit, letter of recommendation, extra security deposit, etc.
• The third application, they recently (October 20th) took someone, again without a deposit, and told me it was “99% done deal and the person is ready to move in the 26th” … again; I have been waiting for close to a week on this, today is the 26th, and still no signed contract and they didn't take a deposit.

Last week, I recently asked the management company if they could please start taking deposits and accepting more applications (3 at a time) while they wait for other people to check out so that we don’t lose interest of a prospective tenant … they said yes, EVEN THOUGH I HAVE PROOF FROM PROSPECTIVE TENANTS FROM THIS WEEKEND THAT THEY ARE TOLD THE APARTMENT IS "99% RENTED AND NOT ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS"

There’s a ton of evidence that incompetence and lack of care is going on here, and I'm sick of waiting for people that don't care with no incentive to try to rent my apartment, while I lose money every day...all because I'm trying to do the right thing.

Advice on:
1) Whether or not I'm still in a legally binding contract
2) Whether I should ask for the keys back and start subletting
3) Any other recommendations
... would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much!
Claire
nyctenant555
 
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Re: NOT SURE WHAT TO DO - LEASE BREAK AND MUCH MORE

Postby TenantNet » Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:16 pm

First, you put the same post in two different areas. We deleted the other post, so please do not duplicate posts.

Second, length of post. We'll try to look at this but normally we ask posters to keep posts a reasonable length. We'll look at this, but can't guarantee a real response. Your post needs to be reduced by at least 75%, seriously.
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