Q: We are 65 & 70, on a wait list for a senior housing complex. Will we be penalized if we break our current lease?
We don't want to go month-to-month on our current lease, as it increases our rent by about $500 per month. If we re-sign our lease, but a unit becomes available in the senior housing complex, can we break our existing lease without penalty?
A:
Dear Rochester Tenant
How is it possible that the rent will increase $500/month? New York State law says that when a tenancy goes month to month the rent remains exactly the same as the rent paid before the lease ran out.
Moreover in New York the landlord must propose a new lease or end the tenancy with a written notification at least ninety days before the current lease expires if the tenancy is three years old and if the landlord does not do so everything stays exactly as before in the month to month tenancy.
There are some State laws that directly deal with this situation https://wpdh.com/did-you-know-you-can-legally-break-a-lease-in-ny-if-youre-older/
But you shouldn't be facing a $500 rent increase.
Tim Akpinar agrees with this answer
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