Landlord Harassment

[sylvie38]

What is the name of your state? NY

We rented a house almost 2 years ago, at the time we were not told that the landlord lived in an apartment in the basement...but we dealt with it when we realized he lived there. Over this time he has been on a continuous up and down flow of mood swings (which we found out later that he is bipolar). This has been terrible for us as we often feel trapped in the house based on his moods....we have ranged from complaints of a little ball being left on the grass...if my daughter leaves her jump rope on the steps he yells that "IT LOOKS LIKE HARLEM AROUND HERE" (meanwhile we had to look at a huge broken down boat on our front lawn for a year. He complains if we get up during the night for a drink because his bedroom is below our kitchen, he has ordered my husband to repair a leak in his vehicle because he wants the car in the driveway because he doesn't like cars being parked in the street, he complains if my 2 year old son who is sick with asthma cries, although we rented the house with the yard we are afraid to use it...he put in a pool and had the electric run illegaly and we pay the electric for the entire house, including his area and the pool. There are so many incidents which alone seem trivial....but when you deal with this on a daily basis it becomes unbearable. We want to move but it is also a matter of finding a place within the school district so it is easier said then done.....what can we do....I don't believe his basement apartment is registered as the town of Brookhaven is very strict about anything in the basement let alone a full kitchen....is there anything we can do since we know that he will also try to withhold our security deposit...PLEASE HELP
THANK YOU!!!

 

[averad]

When does your lease say you can move? Move then thats the easiest answer.

Tenant Rights, Laws and Protections: New York
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/realestate/tenants_rights_guide.html

 

[sylvie38]

lease

our lease expired after the first year and since then we have been on a month to month so we can move anytime after 30 days notice....it's just a matter of is this man harassing us and if so what can we do about it to recover any loss we may have by having to move without really wanting to move...but being forced to move by a man who can't keep a tenant becasue of his mental issues

 

[Hot Topic]

I have to agree with the landlord that the jump rope should not have been left on the steps. It's a safety hazard.

I would document everything, if you haven't already, i.e., date, time and exactly what was said or done.

If there's a mental health facility in your city, you might consider contacting it to see if there's any danger that the landlord could become violent.

 

[BL]

We rented a house almost 2 years ago, at the time we were not told that the landlord lived in an apartment in the basement...

Now which is it ? You rented a whole house in terms of a Lease , or and Apartment ?

Anyways , you can't force stay .

You can however move and sue the Landlord for any illegal bills you have been paying . Get a code inspector in there , compare your bills , Etc .

Also , there is constructive eviction , you can use to forgo the 30 days notice , and still allowed your security deposit , IF you can prove to the Court things are so bad , you were forced to move .