I have lived in a 2 bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, under no lease and have always paid my rent on time. This month I am 10 days late in paying my rent (due to extraoridnary circumstances) and my landlord has refused to accept the rent and instead has said that he is going to change the locks, in order to lock me out, when the first of the month arrives. Can he do this?
Read this article on TenantNet about illegal Evictions. In short, your LL has to follow the law and go to court to get an eviction notice. If they do change the locks, don't even talk to your LL, just call the police. http://tenant.net/Rights/illevict/illevict.html