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Landlord harassment

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Landlord harassment

Postby danigolightly » Thu Dec 09, 2010 9:18 pm

I'm having some major issues with my landlord and I very much need some advice on what actions to take and what my rights are. Here's the long and short of what's going on:


I live in Brooklyn, NY and since June I have been renting a basement apartment within a brownstone house with another girl. There is no written lease and both I and my roommate pay the landlord individually. My landlord lives in the apartment above us.

Lately my landlord has been acting very strangely, particularly toward myself. There was a situation where I had accidentally locked myself out of the house and my only option was to take the air conditioner out of my window and drop down into my room. When he came to put the window back in (he'd previously taken it out in order to put the a/c in) he said that he didn't believe me and accused me of having someone else come in through the window. He also accused me of giving him a counterfeit $20 with my rent payment, among other unusual things. One night he even came into our apartment late at night when my roommie was asleep and sat down at our kitchen table in the dark, making me very uncomfortable.

Last night it escalated when a couple of my friends were over (not a big party, just 3 friends talking and hanging out at a fairly reasonable hour). He calls me up and tells me that I need to find an other apartment and that I'm no longer allowed to have guests over period. That he doesn't like people being here and that he'd had complaints, etc. When I tried talking to him calmly about it he just got very angry and would not try to communicate with me in a reasonable way. My roommate also got notification from him of not being allowed to have guests.

During the phone call with him he said that I am not renting an apartment from him, that I am merely renting a room. During our initial communication, when he responded to my ad when I was looking for a place, he specified that it was indeed an apartment. I saved those emails. I also specified in my ad what my lifestyle is like, so it's not like he didn't know. I never hid anything. I was under the impression that I was renting an apartment and that he would just be a landlord and nothing more, that he would have no say in what I do in my home. There was absolutely never any discussion about rules that he had. He never told me that he had complaints until last night. He never talked to me to try to work things out or to let me know he or anyone else was being disturbed. I have never skipped out on rent, though was late by a few days on two occasions. I have always been super nice and friendly toward him and have tried to be as considerate as possible. Really, most of the time I totally keep to myself and prefer to be invisible. But he seems to just have it out for me. My roommate had never had an issue until now and she's lived here much longer than me.

I should also note that he blocked our main exit out of the house (said he was concerned about a lawsuit if someone hurt themselves on the steps), which is the safest fire exit. And until I said something about it, there were no smoke or gas alarms in the house. He did put one in, but in a very impractical place. So I've been concerned about that as well.

He hasn't given me a set date to leave. There have been no papers served. He said he'll wait for me to find a place, but I'm very concerned that he's going to really snap and do something crazy because he's shown big signs of not being mentally/emotionally stable. I'm very much intimidated by him. I don't know what he's capable of. I'm made to not feel safe in my own home that I'm paying rent for. So I'm not sure at all how to deal with this man. Any advice will be much appreciated.

*Note: I was also wondering if he has any legal right to tell me I can't smoke in my room.
danigolightly
 
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Postby Emeraldstar » Thu Dec 09, 2010 10:34 pm

Hi All
Based upon your post you moved in with another person already living there. That makes you a roommate to that other female. Search this site for roommate rights. There is a lot of info on the topic.
My take: I'd find another place quickly. Why would you want to stay. You make the LL sound like a bizzare creep.
Emeraldstar
 
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Postby danigolightly » Thu Dec 09, 2010 10:52 pm

Thank you so much. I'll definitely look into that. I have to stay for a while because I have to have money to move. I don't have a great income, so I'm kind of stuck for a few months. Sadly, he is a really weird creep. =[
I'm not sure if it is really a roommate situation or tenant situation because we both deal with him directly and separately. We're totally individual on everything. We just happen to share a living space. LL pays utilities other than phone and internet. It stinks because my roommate and I get along famously, we never once had any issue with each other. She's never had one complaint about anything.
danigolightly
 
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Postby Emeraldstar » Thu Dec 09, 2010 11:44 pm

Hi All
1) save/find cash quickly.
2) find a real roommate who hold a lease on an apt.
3) smoking.....friends..... his house, his rules
I realize you think because your seperate that your a tenant but unless I've misunderstood the posts it sounds like there was an agreement with the LL to rent rooms. Is the basement an actual apt. with a seperate entrance with it's own lock, kitch, lr, bath, bd rms?
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Postby danigolightly » Fri Dec 10, 2010 12:38 am

Yes, it's a totally separate apartment, even has a separate entrance outside (the one he blocked up). We don't share anything with anyone else in the house. It's a 3 family home. 3 completely separate apartments. He also advertised it as an apartment, not a room.
danigolightly
 
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Postby Emeraldstar » Sat Dec 11, 2010 2:12 am

Hi All
If you choose to bide your time then I say don't rattel the nut job's cage.
This is one for the book of strange. :roll:
One gal gets an apt. the LL then finds the gal a roommate advertising same apt. gal accepts a stranger, then LL blocks an exit after friends visit. Something wrong there....... ya think :shock:
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Postby danigolightly » Sat Dec 11, 2010 5:27 am

Obviously! The awful truth is, though, that I don't presently have a choice but to bide my time. I'd be out yesterday, were it possible! I just hope that as long as I comply he won't go off worse, but he purposefully looks for little things. Hopefully it's just a case of the holidays setting the psycho button off. lol
I think my best bet is to talk to a lawyer to see exactly what my situation is in the eyes of the law and what my rights are, if any.
danigolightly
 
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Postby ronin » Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:56 am

You busted up his air conditioner. You pay late (sometimes). You have several guests over when you know the guy is right above you and probably were loud as hell at a "fairly reasonable hour" you neglect to identify (which suggests you know it is not a reasonable hour). You smoke in the house and complain about fire alarms. Yeah, your the perfect tenant.

I don't know if this guy qualifies as a "nut job". He's probably not happy about the late rent because the bank charges him fees for his "late mortgage payment" caused by your late rent. Your foul cigarette smoke probably goes through the walls of the brownstone exposing him and his family to your cancer causing foulness. Then it sounds like you are just waiting to doze off while smoking in bed and burn the house down- almost like you're planning for it. Why don't you do a search on this site for cigarette smoke.

You're an inconsiderate, smelly, loud person that has ruined your roommate's ability to have guests (who was there before you). You sound like the nut job. Not the poor owner who lives right above you.

From what you've described I'd feel compelled to help the owner (yes, this is a rare feeling for me) against you if you got some sleazy lawyer to help you harass this guy. You suck.

PS. Your roommate is probably one of the people complaining about you. She just hasn't told you because she's afraid you'll rachet up your nut job tendencies.
ronin
 
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Postby danigolightly » Fri Dec 17, 2010 2:59 am

Ok, first off, it was MY air conditioner. He had asked me if I had expected him to replace it and I said no and I didn't understand why he would even ask when it was MINE. There was no damage to anything other than my own property.

8pm is reasonable. 2 friends and I talking with soft music playing behind closed doors is also pretty reasonable. The man is up till odd hours and makes a lot of noise himself (much more than I usually do). He was in a pissy mood and took it out on me.

I let my friend smoke in my room ONCE because the landlord complained about him being outside. I had no idea he could smell it from my room. If he had just said something about it rather than scream and threaten, I'd have figured out another arrangement no problem. I'm by no means a difficult person to deal with. Every single thing that he has asked of me I have complied with absolutely no problem, yet I'm always the brunt of his mood swings.

I will give you the crap about being late twice with the rent. Sometimes things happen that are beyond one's control (like having to send emergency money home to make sure your mother doesn't starve), but I guess I could have borrowed money from someone. Other than that, you are totally out of line, obviously didn't read my post clearly and made a bunch of rude assumptions.

**UPDATE: he's acting nice again and said he's fine with visitors (no, I hadn't taken any action yet, but I am looking for a new place and so is my roommie).
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