Roommate's rights?

[karch66]

Hi,

I moved in to an apartment here on the Upper West Side in May. I moved into an already occupied apartment, so I was the "roommate". I agreed to pay my roommate's asking price for my share of the rent (not including utilities). My roommate has been in this apartment for over 12 years, so I'm very confident that the apartment we share is rent-stabilized.

Can my roommate charge me anything he wants? Is there any law that protects my rights as a roommate here in New York? Can I, as the roommate, find out what the rent is on this apartment?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Brooklyn Babe]

It is my understanding that you must split the rent equally.
You should call the DHCR to find what the last registered rent is.

RENT STABILIZATION CODE 2525: PROHIBITIONS, in which it states that "An occupant's proportionate share shall be determined by dividing the legal regulated rent by the total number of tenants named on the lease and the total number of occupants residing in the subject housing accommodation."
You may want to read this previous post, for more info.
http://www.tenant.net/.WWW/ubbgraphics/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000055#000005

[MikeW]

This isn't part of the law per se. The DHRC (the state agency that oversees rent regulation) added this to their regulations when the rewrote them to match the '97 rent law changes. This is a legal football at this point.

Also, I haven't seen any roommates using this. The LLs have been trying to use this as grounds for eviction. So if you aren't careful, you could get both of you kicked out. It would be very possible to use this as leverage to get the prime tenant to charge you less. Of course, he may just decide that you're more trouble than you're worth, and start the process of kicking you out.

[karch66]

I am pretty confident that 1) my roommate would rather I leave, and 2) he has done this in the past to other roomies (overcharged them). I called the DHCR, and after much prodding, I got confirmation that indeed this apartment is rent stabilized. I could not get the dollar amount, because I am not a legal tenant. I was told to try to get it from either my roomie (NOT!) or the LL (again...NOT!).

I know that I may be paying ALL the rent on the apartment, as the roomie's been here for over 12 years, it's a modified studio (very cozy...), and I'm paying $900/month. And I would have happily kept paying this amount, except for the little part about my roomie being an idiot...so I started digging...

How do I go about "paying" my roommate back for his open dishonesty?

[subcriminal]

It depends. A baseball bat can be effective in negotiations. Perhaps u should confront him about the illegal overcharge and hammer out an agreement for fair rent.

[newtonyc]

I believe you can sue for the difference in the proportional rent you are supposed to pay and the amount you are actually paying. If you win you are entitled to tripple the diference (trebble damages).

Does anybody else no if this is indeed the case?