What difference does it make whether there are two signatures on the leases or one, as long as the rent is paid?
Lots of people have apartments they don’t live in all the time. The OP could have shown up any time, and for all the landlord knows, that may have happened.
The OP gave permission to sign two names. Big deal.
Well, this is the case. NYC rent control was instituted in 1943 as an “emergency measure” that never ended. So the law is basically a massive expropriation of landlord’s property.
I’m pretty sure the real lesson is not to aid or abet fraud, but to each his own.
Well, he is being evicted from an apartment he hasn’t been in for a decade in a half. And since he is being evicted from his non-residence, that eviction could certainly have consequences such as damaging one’s credit, being liable for damages, and who knows, perhaps even the ability to rent a place in the future, get a mortgage, or employment in some jobs that require background checks.
I think this is a pretty damn big deal, and if I were in the OP’s shoes, I would get a lawyer IMMEDIATELY and not listen to people on an Internet message board.
Can’'t do that with a rent stabilized apartment and keep the stabilization.
from the NYC Rent Guidlines Board
“Consequently, the rent stabilization laws prohibit or limit tenants from engaging in such practices as subletting or assigning apartment leases at a profit; assigning leases without the owner’s consent; passing lease renewal rights on to occupants who have no legally recognized relationship with the tenant; or claiming the protection of rent regulation when the apartment is not used as a primary residence.”
Actually that was kind of dickish. Sorry.
I seriously doubt they’ll be any blowback to Bootis on this. His old buddy will just get evicted and life will move on.
I wouldn’t bet on that. If the landlord thinks the OP knew about the phony signature all along, there might be some kind of fraud indictment. This is one of those cases where you need a real lawyer, and quickly.
NYC Housing Court does not take kindly to people who fuck with the rent stabilization system, on either side. This could get bad fast.
So far the landlord doesn’t know the OP isn’t still renting the apartment correct? So the important thing is that the landlord doesn’t find out–and the way to do that is for the roommate to quietly leave before the deadline.
Unless the roommate is being evicted for some other reason, there’s a good chance the landlord has already figured it out.
Possibly, but the OP said he was getting evicted because he didn’t return the lease renewal. Other places misplace paperwork (I remember a couple years ago my propane company misplaced my annual contract which I had signed and returned); why should landlords be different?
I think if the landlord had already figured it out he would have come with a demand for many thousands of dollars of back rent.
Just to put some numbers on the table, the median rent stabilized apartment in NYC rents for $1,160 and the median free market apartment goes for #1,550. So the roommate could be liable for, at a minimum, $70200 (!!) of back rent. If interest is compounded in (which any lawyer would certainly do), or the apartment was in a more desirable part of NYC, like Manhattan, the fraud could easily total over $100,000. That’s big money, and if the landlord found out, I can’t imagine they would let it slide.
The roommate is not going to be on the hook for any “back rent” differential. That’s nonsense. It doesn’t work that way in NYC.
NYC has a roommate law.
If the landlord has accepted a single check from your old roommate, he has accepted him as a tenant.
Your old roommate should see a lawyer to discuss this entire situation.
Assuming the landlord knew the rent was coming from the roommate- the roommate had every reason not to want the landlord/management company to find out that the OP was no longer living there and may have been paying by money order (or possibly even cash)
I would bet on it. The landlord just wants to raise the rent not get entangled in some very hypothetical fraud case.
I agree that it was at the time. But since the lease in question doesn’t extend back that far, I don’t think it’s directly relevant in this case. That is, regardless of whether the rent control law is just, it was a known quantity to both parties as of 15 years ago.
It looks like some landlords have tried to sue over this, and have not been successful. (See Harmon v Markus).
99% chance he won’t be evicted. NYC has a roommate law. You have the right to share your apartment with one other adult not related to you no matter what your lease says, and the landlord must add the roommates name to the renewal lease when requested.
If I were the roommate, I’d get a lawyer and get this fixed. There was no reason for this subterfuge all these years.
No , actually the landlord must allow a tenant a single non-related roommate, but is only required to add a spouse’s name to the lease. Rent Guidelines Board. And if the landlord allows you to add a non-spouse, it’s considered a new lease and the rent can be raised by the vacancy allowance (which for the last 7 years has been between 16 and 20%) . If the person on the lease leaves, the roommate can try to get his or her own lease- but again, it’s a new lease and the rent can be raised by the vacancy allowance. OP could have asked for permission to sublet the apartment for a couple of years, but theres a time limit on subletting and also a surcharge. The reason for the subterfuge was to avoid a rent increase.
Roommate should definitely get a lawyer, as he may have committed a crime .Even if signing the lease technically isn’t forgery because the OP consented, there’s still the issue of signing as/impersonating the OP to obtain a benefit that the roommate wasn’t entitled to - 15 years of renewals at the OPs rent, rather than the higher rent the roommate would have been charged fo his own lease.
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Not really true, though.
While the OP could have requested the addition of the roommates name to the lease, the landlord would not have been obligated to do so unless the roommate was married to the OP. Adding the name otherwise would have constituted a new lease and their would have been a substantial rent increase involved.
Acceptance of an illegal tenants checks does not constitute acceptance of the tenant.
The roommate ceased to be a roommate when the OP moved.
Ultimately, it depends on how seriously the landlord takes this, but IMHO they can take it pretty seriously. The guys that run the company that manages my building were bragging a few years ago because they busted a couple for entering into a sham marriage in order to transfer a rent-stabilized apartment without a rent increase. This involved extensive work on their end, hiring investigators, etc.
From the NYC Rent Guidelines website FAQ -
http://nycrgb.org/html/resources/faq/roommates.html
I’m not on the lease - what are my rights?
The rights of roommates who are not family members are very limited. They are generally considered “licensees” and may be evicted when the tenant on the lease leaves. Note that the definition of family members includes partners who can show substantial financial and emotional co-dependence. For more information on this see our FAQ section on Succession.
As the signer of a rent stabilized lease, a primary tenant has a right to renew the lease at the lease expiration date, subject to rent adjustments regulated by the Rent Guidelines Board and the Rent Stabilization Code.
Once the tenant on the lease moves out, the landlord is not required to accept a remaining occupant as a new tenant unless that occupant has succession rights. If the roommate is accepted as the new tenant, the landlord may charge a vacancy allowance (typically a 17-20% increase).
Can my name be added to the lease if the owner accepted my checks?
Unless you are the spouse of the named tenant, a landlord is generally not obligated to add your name to the lease. In some cases, direct payment of rent to the landlord may indicate that the landlord has accepted the occupant as a tenant. These are unusual cases, however, and the acceptance of a few rent checks does not necessarily confer the status of a tenant. Such matters are often decided in court after an examination of all of the evidence.
Do new roommates or guarantors mean I will get a vacancy lease/increase?
Under the existing rent stabilization rules, a landlord can charge a 17-20% increase for a “vacancy lease.” In most cases, a vacancy lease occurs when one tenant vacates an apartment and a new one moves in. However, a vacancy lease can also occur if an existing tenant requests the landlord to “add” someone to the lease, since this is then considered a “new” lease. For more information on how vacancy lease increases are calculated, look at our page on vacancy leases.
So I’m curious, did they try to have the tenants charged with anything?