Late rent, landlord agreed on payment date then changed her mind.

[AKNYC]

NY State

My rent is late due to a problem with my bank. I submitted this in writing to my landlord and told her I can pay on the 20th of this month plus any late fees. She agreed to the date by email then 2 hours later emailed me demanding it Friday (15) or I have to "leave the apartment immediately". Is her email agreement legally binding? Also is her "leave immediately" statement binding or am I to be served with an eviction.

 

[sandyclaus]

NY State

My rent is late due to a problem with my bank. I submitted this in writing to my landlord and told her I can pay on the 20th of this month plus any late fees. She agreed to the date by email then 2 hours later emailed me demanding it Friday (15) or I have to "leave the apartment immediately". Is her email agreement legally binding? Also is her "leave immediately" statement binding or am I to be served with an eviction.

What do you mean, "a problem with your bank"? What EXACTLY is the problem?

And no, has the right to change her mind about letting you pay your rent late. If your lease/rental agreement has a specific due date, it is your responsibility to make sure that you comply. It's entirely possible that this isn't your first time having "trouble with your bank", and they have decided to no longer allow late payment of rent without consequence to you.

However, if you do not leave by the 15th, they cannot force you to leave. They cannot remove you or your personal property from the rented premises, nor can they change locks, turn off utilities, or block your access to the property. The LL must follow the legal eviction process, by giving you proper WRITTEN notice (email usually doesn't count for this, since there is no proof of service), and following with an eviction action by a court.

 

[AKNYC]

The problem with my bank

I had a joint account and my now x-boyfriend withdrew all funds and closed it. I was not aware that he's done this until I went to get my certified check for my rent. Since I also use my paypal debit card for most of my smaller purchases, I had no idea. I was not informed in writing or anythign and when I called BANK OF AMERICA they stated that he cannot remove himself from the account but that he does have the right to close it without my permission.

I just moved into my apartment on May 19 2012 so I obviously paid that month's rent to move in along with a deposit and my last months rent 1400 x3.

I notified the realty company who I lease from and the landlord notified me that the letter from my bank was fine and that I can pay on the 20th when I get paid next. My bank can not repoen my account. I had to open a new one and I have to seek legal advice about getting my money from my x. Until then I am stuck with waiting until I get paid on Wednesday. She agreed and for a reason unannounced to me, she changed her mind and said 15th. I don't have any evictions and never was late on my rent as she had to get that information from my last landlord before I moved in. So nothing underhanded is going on. This is why I asked was she allowed to do that. The only thing I can see that may have caused her to change her mind is the many repairs that I brought up to her after she agreed to the 20th for me to pay.

 

[AKNYC]

If you want to know what repairs I complained of. ..... its thunderstorm season and my ceiling and window panes leak with water whenever it rains. I mentioned this to her during our conversation and then out of nowhere I get a new email saying pay Friday or leave immediately.

 

[Willlyjo]

NY State

My rent is late due to a problem with my bank. I submitted this in writing to my landlord and told her I can pay on the 20th of this month plus any late fees. She agreed to the date by email then 2 hours later emailed me demanding it Friday (15) or I have to "leave the apartment immediately". Is her email agreement legally binding? Also is her "leave immediately" statement binding or am I to be served with an eviction.

If you can't pay until the 20th and the LL agreed to allow this, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If the LL changed her mind and now wants it 5 days earlier than she agreed, just realize that she has to give you a pay or quit notice before she serves you with an eviction. If she is ignorant enough to think you have to "leave immediately", then she may be ignorant enough not to give you a 3-day notice.

If somehow it comes to an eviction proceeding (I don't think this will happen however), just file your answer within the period allowed and at the hearing you can explain to the judge, who, under the circumstances, would probably not allow you to be evicted, IMHO!

 

[AKNYC]

Is her PAY or Quit notice the email she sent saying remit payment on the 15th or move? I have never been late on my rent so I dont know a thing about this stuff.

 

[Willlyjo]

Is her PAY or Quit notice the email she sent saying remit payment on the 15th or move? I have never been late on my rent so I dont know a thing about this stuff.

A pay or quit notice is a legal notice that a LL has to tape to your door or give to you personally. This notice gives you 3 days after you are served with it to pay the rent or the LL will begin eviction proceedings. If you pay within the 3 day period, you are okay. If you don't pay within that period, the LL might not accept the rent and you can expect to be served with an eviction notice.

As I said in my last post, I don't think the LL will file an eviction against you based on the fact you are going to pay the rent + late fees on the 20th. If so, you have a good defense against being evicted. It is pretty bad paying 1400 a month and the ceiling leaks when it rains! I'm sure the judge's eyes would widen if you told him how the ceiling leaks. Perhaps you should take pictures during the next rain storm!

So sorry you had such a lousy bf. Take care!

 

[AKNYC]

Thank you

I took videos and pics last week and this week and it isn't being addressed at all by them. Just seems they want me out so they can keep my deposit, last months rent and skip out on fixing anything But Thank you so much for all of the information I am not familiar with this process so it's all taking me by surprise.

 

[sandyclaus]

I had a joint account and my now x-boyfriend withdrew all funds and closed it. I was not aware that he's done this until I went to get my certified check for my rent. Since I also use my paypal debit card for most of my smaller purchases, I had no idea. I was not informed in writing or anythign and when I called BANK OF AMERICA they stated that he cannot remove himself from the account but that he does have the right to close it without my permission.

I just moved into my apartment on May 19 2012 so I obviously paid that month's rent to move in along with a deposit and my last months rent 1400 x3.

I notified the realty company who I lease from and the landlord notified me that the letter from my bank was fine and that I can pay on the 20th when I get paid next. My bank can not repoen my account. I had to open a new one and I have to seek legal advice about getting my money from my x. Until then I am stuck with waiting until I get paid on Wednesday. She agreed and for a reason unannounced to me, she changed her mind and said 15th. I don't have any evictions and never was late on my rent as she had to get that information from my last landlord before I moved in. So nothing underhanded is going on. This is why I asked was she allowed to do that. The only thing I can see that may have caused her to change her mind is the many repairs that I brought up to her after she agreed to the 20th for me to pay.

So then the problem isn't with the bank. It's with the fact that there are no funds in the account to pay your rent with. Banks usually doesn't write letters to LLs because their tenants overdrew their accounts, at least not when the cause for the overdraft was something that was fully under the tenant's control (since your ex-B/F was a joint accountholder, so he was authorized by the bank to withdraw the funds; it's not like someone defrauded you or someone else's check deposit didn't clear which caused your own insufficient funds).

Granted, you claim that your ex-B/F cleaned you out, but for all your LL knows, this is a story that you made up. You are a new tenant, and you are already unable to come up with the first real rent payment on time, plus you are already complaining about the place. Plus, if this is coming up so quickly in the tenancy, she would probably be concerned that this was the beginning of a pattern. I'd think twice about keeping you as a tenant myself.

 

[Willlyjo]

I took videos and pics last week and this week and it isn't being addressed at all by them. Just seems they want me out so they can keep my deposit, last months rent and skip out on fixing anything But Thank you so much for all of the information I am not familiar with this process so it's all taking me by surprise.

The library has lots of information on preventing LL's from stealing your SD. As far as your leaky ceiling, maybe you should send a certified letter to your LL telling them they need to fix the leaks or you will look into your right to use the rent money to fix the problem. That might give them an incentive to do their job. Otherwise, if you don't research and understand your rights as a tenant, they may just continue to take advantage of you.

Also, there are really some good knowledgeable Senior Members here who can help you whenever you come here with a question, so don't be afraid to come here when you feel the need.

 

[AKNYC]

Thank you sandyclaus

I appreciate your "suspicions" and no the bank didn't write a letter to my landlord, they wrote a letter to me. In branch and handed it to me notifying me in writing of what happened. I presented the note to my landlord, since it has the banks heading and the branch managers number they know it wasn't a "made up story". They did a background check on me which included calling my job, speaking with my past landlord and reviewing my money orders from the past year of my last residence (which include dates that are all on the 1st a.k. on-time), But thank you for your imput. I see now how they think.

Willyjo,

Thank you for the helpful information. My intent isn't to get over on anyone. But I am now seeing why the apartment was vacant almost a year before I moved in. It is an old building so I expect leaks ect, I just expect it to be fixed ya know. It isn't my intent to be like "fix or I wont pay" I have never been that kind of tenant and I guess some people do run into legitamite bad luck. I guess it happened to me this time. But I'm 40 and never had a eviction in my life and I've been renting since I was 16. So it's kind of weird that this is happening to me. Oh well, as for my x, I guess court is yet another expense that I have to seek out. If he was legally able to do what he did, I guess there's nothing I can do.

 

[AKNYC]

Thank you guys for your replies

I now know what this procedure is going to be. I will speak with her again when I see her tomorrow and see what happens. Thanks again.