Lease Renew Question

[Mister1rg]

So I've lived in my apartment for a couple years. My lease expired in March of this year and I nver signed a new lease. In waiting for my school loan refunds I have fallen 3 months back on rent. Now the LL is calling asking for the resigned lease and the money. The question I have is, with no lease signed is it assumed I live month to month and can I pay the 3 months I owe and leave? And if I am even with my payments can they still "evict me" for not signing the lease and if so does that effect my credit if i dont actually owe them any money? They have given me only a couple days before they said they will start the eviction processes

[TenantNet]

If you're unregulated, if the lease expires and you stay on, then you would become month-to-month. That means a "lease" rolls over every month. You start a new lease at the beginning of the month and it ends at the end of the month (that's a general description and not a legal definition).

You can leave any time you wish. You would be liable for the rent up through the last month you resided there plus or minus any offsets, damages, claims by the tenant, etc. If you didn't sign a new lease, even if offered, then there is no new lease. (but be aware that under rent stabilization a tenant can be under a "deemed lease" even if not signed).

They can't evict you for not signing a lease. But they can evict you for holding over past the expiration of the old lease. To evict you, they would need to give you 30-days notice. See the many discussions on this forum about month-to-month tenancies and the material in the Reference section.