Has it occurred to anybody that this woman might be being abused? That she might be leaving the door open and being loud because she is stressed out? that she might need someone’s help rather than their condemnation?
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@clare
The column is about an adult, not a child. An adult, even an abused adult, has the responsibility to at least begin the process of helping her/himself. The subletter could dial 911, the real-life equivalent of Olivia Benson, or even a woman's shelter. She has many options besides shrieking uncontrollably through the night.
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@clare no i don't think is the issue.
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@clare The reason for the noise doesn't matter. Abuse? unfortunate. But noise is noise and she should be evicted if she's violating her sublease.
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I would say the simple answer to the headline is that the Board can evict a subletter by evicting the subleasee owner of the unit.
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I'm grateful that my co-op (which is not a conversion) doesn't permit sub-leasing. We like to know that people who live here have a vested interest in maintaining their homes. Some shareholders, who have vacation homes elsewhere, would like to allow sub-leasing, but the majority have resisted. These apartments are not investments for passive rental income, they are our homes.
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Wish the person who repeatedly and illegally rents the house he purchased on our small, quiet street, effectively converting it to a hotel, felt that way.
We should have known from the start he’d be a problem—he started his work without permits, illegally raised the house, and told everyone his disabled son would be living there, which of course never happened. Conveniently (for him), he lives far away and on a large piece of property, so he’ll never experience what we do, ie, an endless rotation of strangers taking up residence on our street.
After 3 co-ops in the city, I left and thought I’d left these sorts of problems behind me. All it takes is one uncaring and selfish person, and the problems can follow you anywhere.
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@cirincis - Your town may have regulations regarding short term rentals. Alternatively keep a log of disturbances and notify the local police when needed. They will almost always side with homeowners vs. short term renters.
3
although this doesn't appear to be a popular question via the comment section, I am thankful for the valuable advice and I have printed it out to keep with my coop board. Thank you NYTimes.
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Many Coop boards that allow sublets require the sub-lessee to submit a full board application and be interviewed by the board before approving them, just like if they were buying the unit.
This also ensures that their "approved sublease agreement" is used, and to meet the potential sub-tenant before agreeing to the arrangement, which greatly reduces the likelihood of a "problem tenant" moving in.
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Never buy a condo or into a co-op.People can be messy. NYC is the magnet for how to do it wrong.
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@Tony Not everyone wants to live in Truro in January.
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@Maureen Truro is lovely in all seasons. You should know, living so close to it. And let's all thank our lucky stars that coops are not the norm across the country.
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@PrairieFlax
Not everyone can afford a house, especially in NYC. I am lucky I can afford a co-op. The close proximity to neighbors will always be a problem, and co-op rules and inflexible neighbors are not fun to have around.
4
As an attentive reader of Ms. Kaysen's stories, I feel a certain Schadenfreunde as one who lives in a stand-alone abode in a suburb of a big city. No need to deal with the neighbors immediately above, below, and on the sides of us.
2
So you've said time and time again.
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@Tuvw Xyz I certainly feel no shaudenfreude over the fact that I don't live in a "stand alone abode" in Evanston, Illinois.
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@Tuvw Xyz Count me out. I live in a stand-alone in Nebraska and take no joy in the suffering of these people who write in.
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I am depressed by the throwaway line that judges don't like to evict people over noise violations.
In fact, noise is one of the worst violations. Numerous studies show loud, uncontrollable noise can cause serious psychological and physical problems. Disturbed sleep is especially bad.
Noise violation should be one of the most important reasons to evict Anyone.
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@akamai And what about all the other viable reasons for eviction? Oh, can't evict anyone in NYS? You can thank your overreaching state government for that - they just jumped the shark for unaccountable tenant activists with the new Tenant Protection Act, so renters have pretty much been given all the rights of property ownership without the responsibilities of having to pay taxes, maintenance, and utilities.
7
@Voltaire42 you can blame Asslemblyman Harvey Epstein for that. He likes to pretend he's for the poor, yet he lives in a 1.5 million dollar condo....he's a fraud. His new attack is on HDFCs - primarily owned by people of color - he wants to steal away their equity and make their homes into public housing. A terrible, terrible man.
It is always a bad idea for co-ops to allow sublets. Unfortunately, many converted buildings had no choice in the matter when they became co-ops. The actual corporate by-laws of my original co-op prohibit sublets. There ought to be a regulation that subletters must abide by the rules as would any unit shareholder. Evictions in a co-op can be difficult, but not nearly as so in a condo.
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All true, but that is not the finer legal point brought out in case and then explained by the attorney. It is simply a matter of contract law. The sub-letting person has a contract with the particular shareholder who holds the lease to the apartment she inhabits. The co-operative organization may or may not have permitted the shareholder ( apartment landlord ) to sub-let. But the fact is - the person did so. So the co-op organization has the legal right to pursue contractual remedies against the apartment owner ( i.e. the shareholder who holds the lease on the particular apartment in question ).
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@Suburban Cowboy
You're correct that the cat is out of the bag and it's now a matter of contract law.
But, David is absolutely right when he says sublets should not be allowed. This situation is exactly why. A 3rd party is now involved with the dispute and that can only make things messier to clean up.
SC - You're in Dallas. Here in NYC, judges are notoriously pro-tenant. They are prone to protect subletters even when the subletter has done wrong and violated co-op rules.
Like I said, a real messy situation.
21
@helton It's much the same way in San Francisco, where landlords are virtually powerless against the tenant's union in a city where most of the voters are renters.
A lot of homeowners with apartment units don't want to be at the mercy of a tenant. That's why there are thousands of vacant apartment units in a city where there's a severe housing shortage and rents are astronomical.
17