My lease is up at the end of the month and my landlord informed me he wants to increase our rent by an outrageous amount. I attempted to negotiate and offered up to half of the increase he wanted and he refused to listen to me.
The situation is complicated by the fact that my apartment is illegal, which I didn't know when I signed my lease last year. LL took the first floor apartment and finished a portion of the basement to make it a duplex. One bedroom doesn't meet fire code (no means of egress in case of fire) and he advertises it as a legal BR. Also got no permits for construction, didn't inform DOB/DHCR about construction or addition of bedrooms. No valid certificate of occupancy on file. Also think he used the construction to illegally increase rent in rent stabilized apt, but this was back in 2002. (Apt is no longer stabilized, rent is over $2K.)
I know this isn't the best scenario but I really like my apartment and would like to stay 1 more year.
What are my options here, and how do I deal with this guy? What do I tell him, and what can happen to me/my credit rating if he tries to take me to court? I am willing to get a lawyer involved if it seems likely I will win, but would love to avoid. He doesn't know that I know the place is illegal. I don't want to start a big war; I just want to stay in my apartment without paying more for it than it is worth.
Thank you for any and all advice!