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Received ten day notice to quit

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Received ten day notice to quit

Postby boomarang » Wed Jun 05, 2002 10:13 am

I received a ten day notice to quit today.
If you read my previous post, 'Wife passed not on lease' you'll understand a little of this situation. My question is what's next?
I work but my finances cannot support laywer fees right now, 25% of my pay check goes to child support and that's before taxes. I'm living in a N.Y.C. housing authority complex...
My wife was the lease holder, she died of cancer and was certified disabled about 9months before she died, she was dianoised with cancer 2 yrs before that.
I was also dianoised with this dreaded disease in Aug. 2001.
My question is How long do I have before court proceedings take place. Should I start packing because of this notice. Are there any lawyers that I can get for little fees or pro bono?
Please read my previous post 'WIFE PASSED NOT ON LEASE' All answers will be appreciated,
Thanks
boomarang
 
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Re: Received ten day notice to quit

Postby HAJ77 » Wed Jun 05, 2002 11:01 am

You can contact Legal Aid (http://www.legal-aid.org or in the phone book), but the income limit is very low. Also, the Pro Se attorney ia available at the court house, while they won't represent you, they offer free advice about filing papers and court procedure. You may want to check with several attorneys, while you have to pay the retainer fee upfront, most will try to find a payment schedule that you can meet, but that all depends on your finances. Finally, if you are older, there are organization that can help you.
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Re: Received ten day notice to quit

Postby consigliere » Wed Jun 05, 2002 11:55 am

Your current thread and your original thread, wife passed / not on lease, really belong in the section for the Housing Authority.
 
If there's still time, you may have to challenge the Housing Authority's ruling in New York State Supreme Court, via an Article 78 proceeding. You might not be allowed to contest the merits of the case in housing court.
 
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Re: Received ten day notice to quit

Postby Brooklyn Babe » Wed Jun 05, 2002 12:07 pm

Don't panic. It's ok. In order to hold onto the apt., you will at some point in time have to go to court. What you need to find out is if "succession" rights apply to NYCHA buildings.
Gather all your evidence. Get certified copies of when she was declared disbled. All evidence proving when you moved in (old lease from prior address, return of security deposit receipt/chq. from previous address, documents (bank statement, tax return, pat stubs etc.) showing the new address. Get bank statements or other proof of how you contributed to the household finances. Did you pay the phone bills, cable etc...This is just off the top of my head, I'm sure the Pro Se will give you more suggestions.

READ: City-Wide Task Force on Housing Court, Inc. Information Sheet "HOLDOVER". This will tell you what the 10 day notice means...
http://www.tenant.net/Court/Howcourt/holdover.html
Did you do the 2 searches on this site? VERY IMPORTANT:
-go to the "forum archives" and type in a search using "succession"
-go to "Housing Crt Decisions" and do the same search- pay attention to the judges rulings and the type of evidence tenants presented etc...

As for free or low cost legal help. You may want to join a "legal services provider"- works like insurance, you pay approx. $30.00 a month and you can call them with questions and to give you next step advice.
You can also see if your neighborhood has a Tenants association.
You can apply to Legal Aid, to see if you qualify.
Best of luck!
The above information is from a non-attorney tenant activist and is not considered or to be used as legal advice.
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Re: Received ten day notice to quit

Postby Brooklyn Babe » Wed Jun 05, 2002 1:13 pm

Cool. Never knew/heard of Article 78 before, but as per Consig's advice, here is some more info.
go to www.article78.com, click introduction for an explaination
Also, the following page gives specific NYCHA process info.
The Rights & Responsibilities of New York City Housing Authority Tenants
http://www.rentlaw.com/nyc/nychouse.htm &
http://www.bronxlegalservices.org/TextVersion/text_english_publications_nycha.htm#C.%20Remaining%20Family%20Members%20-%20Their%20Rights
C. Remaining Family Members - Their Rights

"If the leaseholder dies or moves out, the "remaining family members" have the right to take over the apartment. "Remaining family members" are those family members who have been in the household continuously from the beginning or who were born to a household member or who at some point were granted permission to become permanent members of the household.

The remaining family member should promptly seek a "remaining family member grievance". NYCHA will not, as a rule, process such a grievance unless the rent is paid up, so the sooner this grievance can be sought, the better. The monthly rent (often, based on the dead or departed family member's income) will not be reduced until the remaining family member grievance is resolved.

A recent court decision ruled that the Housing Authority cannot deny a remaining family member a grievance solely because the rent isn't paid up, but it isn't clear whether NYCHA is now applying this rule to all other tenants.

If the transfer of the apartment is due to a tenant moving out rather than dying, the departing tenant can be very helpful in straightening things out with NYCHA. The original tenant should be sure who is "lawfully" living there before giving any signs of planned departure. The departing tenant should "sign out" and relinquish his/her rights to the apartments, and, at the same time, the family member may request a remaining family member grievance. If you are the remaining family member, keep in touch with the departing tenant, so you can contact him or her if you need to.

If you were not a remaining family member under these definitions (either because you were living there without NYCHA's permission or with temporary permission only), you can still attempt to legalize your situation. Seek a remaining family member grievance, and if NYCHA refuses to grant it or denies it, appeal this decision to the borough-wide office. Put forth your best reason for why you should be allowed to stay; good reasons include a long time in the apartment and a long period of contributing to the rent.

It's likely that you will find yourself in Housing Court soon, in a "licensee holdover" proceeding. In court, you will often be offered either time to move or an opportunity for a grievance. The court has the power to give you up to six months to move, if you pay ongoing rent."

"V. THE GRIEVANCE PROCESS

You can file a grievance over almost any decision NYCHA makes at the project level if you disagree with it: level of rent, retroactive charges, denial of permission to have a pet, denial of permission to add someone to your household, refusal to move you to a larger apartment, etc. You cannot challenge an administrative agency decision from 250 Broadway by filing a grievance, nor can you challenge a court decision by filing a grievance. See the sections below for those issues. If NYCHA issues a written decision with which you disagree you have ten days to file your grievance. If you miss the filing deadline and have an excuse, file it anyway and explain the delay in your grievance.

There is a form for filing a grievance which NYCHA is supposed to provide you whenever you ask for it. If NYCHA refuses to provide the form, write it out on blank paper. At the top, put the word "Grievance" and the date.

Explain in your grievance form why you disagree with NYCHA's decision. You can attach copies of any documents you have to prove your point. The manager of your project will give you a written decision.

If you disagree with the project management's decision, you have ten working days to appeal to the district chief. If you do not receive a decision from your project manager after a month or so, send a letter to the district chief, outlining your problem. Either way, you will receive a written decision from the district chief.

If you disagree with this second written decision, you have ten working days to request a formal hearing, which will be held at 250 Broadway. If you lose the hearing at 250 Broadway, you may appeal in court in what's called an "Article 78" proceeding. You will probably need a lawyer to file an Article 78.

If you are making a timely challenge to a rent increase, you can continue to pay the lower rent while the grievance is being decided. Unfortunately, if you are challenging NYCHA's refusal to lower your rent--or any other NYCHA decision--you must keep your rent current during the grievance process. If you fall behind in your rent, which means failing to pay the full rent by the fifth business day of the month, your grievance is automatically over and you lose. You cannot file a grievance if you owe rent.

This policy is sometimes particularly difficult for a remaining family member who is trying to establish his or her right to stay in the apartment. Because s/he must continue to pay the rent (which was set using the prior tenant's income) in order to be eligible to file a grievance, the remaining family member must sometimes pay a monthly rent that equals or exceeds his or her entire income. A judge recently ruled that, at least with respect to remaining family members, this procedure is not lawful. It's not yet clear whether NYCHA will follow this court's decision in future grievances. You may need a lawyer to help you, if you face this situation."
Best of Luck! Keep us posted...
The above information is from a non-attorney tenant activist and is not considered or to be used as legal advice.
Brooklyn Babe
 
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Re: Received ten day notice to quit

Postby Brooklyn Babe » Wed Jun 05, 2002 3:05 pm

Please go to Forum Section "Other NYC Housing Issues
Public Housing (NYCHA), SRO, HUD, HPD, Mitchell Lama, Lofts, Coop/Condo" where an info sheet has been posted.
According to the sheet, because your wife did not ask NYCHA to have you added to the premises, you will have to go to court and ask for additional time (up to 6 mths) to move.
But, I don't think it'll hurt to start an article 78 or any other proceeding you can...
The above information is from a non-attorney tenant activist and is not considered or to be used as legal advice.
Brooklyn Babe
 
Posts: 130
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2002 1:01 am

Re: Received ten day notice to quit

Postby boomarang » Thu Jun 06, 2002 1:53 am

Thanks everyone for your continous help, I will follow on some of the issues posted and I'm going to court this friday, my day off, to speak to a per se...
My wife did put in a request for me to live here, i went thru a background check, brought paystubs, proof of employment, the whole works...
But that was in Jan. of 2001 before she passed, it never was a officalized, she passed on before it could happen. As for the grievances, I had one with the project manager and they had another with the district office without me. I'll try everything I can and keep on posting...Thanks
boomarang
 
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