greenfreak
New Member
So...
I moved into an expensive apartment last May ($1500. a month with heat/hot water included). My landlord owns the house as well as a bunch of condo's because he has a construction business. We are small potatoes to them.
Any repairs or maintenance that needed to be done in the past year was like pulling teeth. I had to make daily phone calls to get anything done. My most recent squabble was the 30 year old stove that quit working right before Thanksgiving when I was having company.
Now, after only one year, my landlord wants to raise my rent by $100. a month. Why? First he said it was because the heat alone cost him $60. a month. Bullshit-this was the warmest winter in NY history. Now he's saying it's because his taxes went up (I found out only by 9%--even if he paid $5000. in taxes a year, that's nowhere near $100. a month). When I complained about that, he said, "I could get $1700. a month for that place easily."
He wouldn't hesitate to evict us, this I know. He probably could get $1700 because we're so close to the beach and the summer season hasn't started yet. We have no lease since May 1 because of this and he says we can "live month to month". Which means he can kick us out anytime.
We left it that he was going to bring us a heating bill and show it to us. I don't know what to do. He thinks my boyfriend is still out of work and previously agreed to leave the rent as-is till Rusty gets a job. But now I think he's getting impatient.
If I threaten to leave, he'll take us up on it. I called my realtor to see if there are any laws about rent increases. I looked up some websites about tenant rights but they all apply to rent-controlled apartments in NYC. I hate to think this but I think since they own the house, they can raise the rent to anything they want.
What would you do? Have any horror stories of your own? Please, share.
I moved into an expensive apartment last May ($1500. a month with heat/hot water included). My landlord owns the house as well as a bunch of condo's because he has a construction business. We are small potatoes to them.
Any repairs or maintenance that needed to be done in the past year was like pulling teeth. I had to make daily phone calls to get anything done. My most recent squabble was the 30 year old stove that quit working right before Thanksgiving when I was having company.
Now, after only one year, my landlord wants to raise my rent by $100. a month. Why? First he said it was because the heat alone cost him $60. a month. Bullshit-this was the warmest winter in NY history. Now he's saying it's because his taxes went up (I found out only by 9%--even if he paid $5000. in taxes a year, that's nowhere near $100. a month). When I complained about that, he said, "I could get $1700. a month for that place easily."
He wouldn't hesitate to evict us, this I know. He probably could get $1700 because we're so close to the beach and the summer season hasn't started yet. We have no lease since May 1 because of this and he says we can "live month to month". Which means he can kick us out anytime.
We left it that he was going to bring us a heating bill and show it to us. I don't know what to do. He thinks my boyfriend is still out of work and previously agreed to leave the rent as-is till Rusty gets a job. But now I think he's getting impatient.
If I threaten to leave, he'll take us up on it. I called my realtor to see if there are any laws about rent increases. I looked up some websites about tenant rights but they all apply to rent-controlled apartments in NYC. I hate to think this but I think since they own the house, they can raise the rent to anything they want.
What would you do? Have any horror stories of your own? Please, share.
