Q: In Nassau County, NY, if I report my landlord for renting me an illegal apartment, do I have to vacate immediately?
They’ve been performing a slow illegal eviction. They gave me until November 15th to move out and now I was just served. I have to be in court on October 13th for an eviction hearing. I’ve been trying to find an apartment but I wasn’t given adequate time and they shut off wifi service abruptly, hindering my chances at finding a new apartment.
A:
Shutting off the utility services is a crime in New York State, and the landlord would have been arrested if you called the police. An unlawful eviction should also cause the court to stop the landlord from prosecuting a legitimate eviction case.
The Court eventually will allow an eviction if the owner can prove the eviction petition in the courtroom at a trial. Usually, an eviction lawsuit requires a preliminary written notice from the landlord to the tenant that is a notification of the ending of the tenancy. If there is no lease for the rented space, as far as the eviction court is concerned, there is no difference in the proof required to seek a judgment and eviction against the tenant of a legal or an illegal apartment.
Of course, you could help the landlord prove the grounds for eviction by admitting to all the material facts as you did when posting this question (of course, leaving out your name and address and the landlord's name and address) that the landlord needs to prove or hire a lawyer to stop you from doing so.
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