After I signed the lease for an unregulated apartment I asked for a copy. LL only provided a photocopy of the first page but said the lease would stay on file with them. I did not want to come across as a difficult tenant and I dropped the matter. (LL is a big bureaucratic institution which likes to have its way.)
Two months before the expiration date LL claimed that I breached the lease and said that I should vacate immediately. However LL accepted rent and seems to be waiting for the expiration date. No offer to renew was made.
If I stay beyond the term I understand LL may elect to refuse rent and immediately start a holdover proceeding. If so:
(a) Can I claim that LL actually terminated the lease two months early, and therefore that I should be treated as a month-to-month tenant? (This would give me a little extra time to relocate)
(b) I actually believe that I am not breaching the lease but without a copy I can't efficiently argue this point. Will it be too late to claim that LL should have offered a new lease anyway?
Also: if I go through the proceeding and I lose, does this have other negative consequences such as lower credit score, bad judicial record and stuff?
Thanks
a