HELP! Being Forced To Move Out - What're My Options?

[KaiZen2010]

Hello All,

I have been living in a one-bedroom basement apartment in a two-family house in the Bronx for the past 3.5 years. I’ve never had any difficulties with the landlady, despite that fact that she and her daughters are intrusive, noisy, and have deplorable manners. I simply pay my rent and limit my contact with them as much as I’m able.

I certainly would greatly appreciate help with learning about what my rights and options are as a tenant with regard to the following situation:

1) Sunday, 02/23/03, 11:30pm, I received a call from my landlady, informing me that the house had been sold and that the new owners want all the tenants to move out by May 2003. This was extremely sudden and it just seemed incredulous to me, as it occurred to me that I had never seen a “For Sale” sign and now, I’m learning that I have exactly two months to locate a new place, pack, save money and then proceed with the move.

The plot thickens. Monday, 02/24/03, I spoke with my upstairs neighbor-friend to corroborate the landlady’s story, and he told me that it was a flat out lie. That the house has not been sold and that, in fact, this was the exact same tactic the landlady had unsuccessfully used a year ago to try to goad another tenant who is still living upstairs to move out.

2) Two weeks ago, I came home and found my apartment, especially the hallway was wreaking with a piercing and foul stench of heating oil. The landlady must’ve noticed that I arrived home because she called me on the phone informing me that heating oil had accidentally spilled into my apartment. Since the landlady has a copy of my apartment key, her daughters had mopped up the spill before I arrived home from work. When I first secured the apartment, I, unfortunately, heeded the instructions of the real estate agent that told me that I needed to give a copy of the apartment key to the landlady. My friend strongly advised that I change my door lock immediately and not give the landlady a copy of the key. However, the stench remained in the hallway and a new pair of brown suede shoes was ruined. Although not as pungent as a week ago, the stench of heating oil still remains in my hallway.

3) I have grown quite suspicious for a long time now that perhaps the landlady is stealing from me, as I think the electricity for the basement and the light outside of my doorway is hooked in to my apartment. The electric bill is somewhat high as compared to people I personally know who have their PC’s, radios, TV, lights, etc., turned on for a considerable length of time on a daily basis. Considering someone like myself who doesn’t own an air conditioner and who doesn’t have a lot of electrical appliances kept on. I mean, I leave my apartment at 6:30am, and usually don’t get home until 8-10pm. I don’t own any major electrical appliances except for a PC and a television. So how can I account for the amount of electric bill that I historically have been paying???

After what has transpired happened recently, I am definitely moving out, but would prefer to so on my terms and certainly not within two months. I would greatly appreciate feedback, specifically a workable plan of action.

Best regards,

Kaizen