m***@gmail.com
2008-06-26 12:00:02 UTC
So this is an odd situation and I suspect illegal on the part of the
landlord. My daughter is living in a brownstone which is supposed to
be a 2-unit. The downstairs/basement/garden apartment is separate -
mostly.It is a one .
bedroom unit.
The second "unit" is comprised of four two room "suites" which share
the 2 bathrooms and kitchen. Each 2 room suite has its own lease. So
far there have not been too many problems regarding tenant/roommates
because the landlord is both new and lazy and has allowed the existing
tenants to advertise, interview and submit potential tenants to her.
She has accepted all. But here is the problem or problems. The two
room suites have NO locks on them making it impossible to secure ones
possessions or person from anyone else entering at their leisure.
Can the landlord rent one of these "units" to just some random person
if she chooses? In the past she has allowed the downstairs tenent (who
was supposed to be the manager) to have open access to the upstairs
units through an inner door and he in turn gave access to his friends
to exit through the main door rather than the basement door (why; I
have no idea) which meant that they had access to ALL the rooms in the
building.
There is only one electric meter for the main 2 levels and electric
bills are to be shared by the 4 separate lessees. In addition to the
safety issue there is the problem of making sure that each tenant pays
his fair share and does not mess over the tenant whose name the bill
is in.
Can anyone direct me to a site which may cover the legality of these
issues. We like the place here with the current tenants but one is
moving out in July and we are not sure of what lady landlord might
do. In some ways she is a real stickler for the rules but in another
way she seems to have little interest in really being a landlord. She
does her leases by mail and hardly ever sets foot in the city from her
home in NJ. All of her building managers have been horrible, leaving
tenants without hot water for days, and not calling maintenance people
when needed. She also did not turn the gas on until a month after the
law allows. BUT the units are reasonably priced and seem to suit our
needs.
landlord. My daughter is living in a brownstone which is supposed to
be a 2-unit. The downstairs/basement/garden apartment is separate -
mostly.It is a one .
bedroom unit.
The second "unit" is comprised of four two room "suites" which share
the 2 bathrooms and kitchen. Each 2 room suite has its own lease. So
far there have not been too many problems regarding tenant/roommates
because the landlord is both new and lazy and has allowed the existing
tenants to advertise, interview and submit potential tenants to her.
She has accepted all. But here is the problem or problems. The two
room suites have NO locks on them making it impossible to secure ones
possessions or person from anyone else entering at their leisure.
Can the landlord rent one of these "units" to just some random person
if she chooses? In the past she has allowed the downstairs tenent (who
was supposed to be the manager) to have open access to the upstairs
units through an inner door and he in turn gave access to his friends
to exit through the main door rather than the basement door (why; I
have no idea) which meant that they had access to ALL the rooms in the
building.
There is only one electric meter for the main 2 levels and electric
bills are to be shared by the 4 separate lessees. In addition to the
safety issue there is the problem of making sure that each tenant pays
his fair share and does not mess over the tenant whose name the bill
is in.
Can anyone direct me to a site which may cover the legality of these
issues. We like the place here with the current tenants but one is
moving out in July and we are not sure of what lady landlord might
do. In some ways she is a real stickler for the rules but in another
way she seems to have little interest in really being a landlord. She
does her leases by mail and hardly ever sets foot in the city from her
home in NJ. All of her building managers have been horrible, leaving
tenants without hot water for days, and not calling maintenance people
when needed. She also did not turn the gas on until a month after the
law allows. BUT the units are reasonably priced and seem to suit our
needs.