State Specific Question About: NEW YORK (NY)

My mother inherited a 3 family house ( 3 stories with 1 apt in each floor) in NYC. The apartments on the second floor are illegal, 1 family apartment was divided into 2 families apartments and rented out. Tenants were asked to move, they won't move bec rent was cheap. Now they also stopped paying rent.

In some cities it is illegal to rent out an illegal unit. If the tenant reports this to you Housing authority, you will be asked to pay back all of their rent that they ever paid.

This happens to friends of mine. I tell them to give the tenant "cash for keys" via an escrow account. Some times you start at $2500, then $5,000. If necessary figure it out. Even 10 grand is a cheap why of handling things. And many times you can not evict a person easily from an illegal apartment.

But as the new owner, with the help of an attorney, if the tenant won't move, you can have someone report this illegal unit and have it Red tagged so no one can live there. Again you have to be carful. One wrong move and the fines can eat you up!

I purchased a 15 unit with the laundry room being converted to a 16th unit. I asked the guy to please find another place to "stay", not live. I did not accept any of his rent money because I knew I wasn't allowed to accept it on an illegal unit.

So as a contractor I pulled permits to convert the laundry room into a Guest/work area. No kitchen, only a toilet, sink and heat. I did not go forward. Instead when I smelled "weed", (It was illegal back then), I thought the dryer caught on fire so I called the fire department. They came out and they found the guy living in the converted area of the laundry room stoned out of his mind. The police hauled his behind away to jail. Then I removed all of the make shift partitions --making it back into a laundry room. I also changed the lock to a combination type with a memory, giving each tenant their own code. So if someone let him in, I'd know who it was and could take action.

Bonanza who you calling Yokel's?

you have 2 strikes. #1 we've read your posts and number 3 we've read your answers. #2 is self-evident since you're from NC..

Would you do surgery to yourself?

Why do you want them out? Because it's an illegal situation or something else? That is going to be the real question.

I don't think anyone is going to "care" about it being illegal until it's brought up and that may not even be an issue either (I mean in court if you are trying to get them out).

I wouldn't be surprised that if it was brought up, the tenants would then find a way to get their money back for the rent paid to reimburse them for being swindled.

Tread lightly on this. Think about 5 steps ahead and keep it that way. Why did they stop paying? That's a little foolish on their part if they don't want to move because the rent is so cheap.

If you gave them proper notice to vacate (served properly) then you should be able to take them to court (for holdover). Do you know if that was done correctly? Is that why they are not paying? They stopped paying because they are suppose to be out? Do NOT accept any rent from them for any time AFTER they were to be out. If you do, then that means you are allowing them to be there and you can't do that AND ask them to leave at the same time.

Get an attorney that KNOWS and DOES landlord/tenant cases REGULARLY (check them out in court, ask their clients how they felt after, etc).

Bonanza I love your thought process and analysis and very very rarely need to rethink where you're going on point.

So yes, you make me laugh out loud when you post.