Central NY Landlord; inherited tenet !

[Loren Oatman]

I have a friend who had a tenet that moved out but had a roommate that was not on the lease. It was February and in Central NY a cold time of the Year. My friend the owner let the roommate stay feeling bad for him. The RM( Roommate) is now the sole person in the house. He paid two months and was given a receipt on the last payment. The RM stopped paying rent in May and stated that he no longer has to pay rent because he is disabled and NY Governor says that there are no evictions until September. My friend was told by a lawyer that he is stuck because he gave the RM a receipt. I would like some feedback about this situation and see what other people thing about the  situation. 

[Wesley W.]

I think, unfortunately, your friend made some very critical mistakes that are going to cost him time and money.

Here's what I see as the steps to unraveling these egregious errors:

(1) Hire an attorney whom specializes in landlord/tenant law

(2) Wait for the eviction moratorium in NYS to end (patience will be required here, as we're at 16 months and counting)

(3) Under your attorney's advice, carry out an action against this freeloading occupant as a "licensee"  (I think it's called section 425? 525?  I'm forgetting, but the attorney should know...)

(4) Pay the attorney's fees, court fees, marshal's fees, holding costs for the property, and the expensive renovation this unit will no doubt need before being rent ready.  Call these expenses "landlord tuition."

Quick takeaways to avoid this pain in the future:

(A) Add strict language to your lease regarding unauthorized occupants, such as:

6. OCCUPANCY: Only those persons whose names appear on the Lease may occupy the Rental Unit without our prior written consent. You may have overnight guests for no more than seven (7) consecutive nights or fourteen (14) nights within a twelve (12) month period, and no more than two overnight guests at a time unless we provide specific approval. Those that are not Tenants on this Lease may not use the Rental Unit or Premises while you are not present. If you will be absent for more than 14 days, you must notify us in writing. If you leave the Rental Unit unoccupied at any time while Rent is due and unpaid, we may, at our option, take immediate possession of and exclude you from the Rental Unit, removing and storing at your expense all property found contained therein.

8. UNAUTHORIZED OCCUPANTS: You shall not allow any person to use or occupy the Premises beyond the limits outlined under Paragraph 6 without first obtaining our written consent to such use. You shall promptly inform us of any and all occupants not named herein. Any person not named herein who resides on the Premises beyond the aforementioned limits without our written permission shall be deemed an Unauthorized Occupant. We may, but are not obligated to, give any Unauthorized Occupant the option of signing and agreeing to a Lease. Should an Unauthorized Occupant refuse to be bound by this Lease, or refuse to leave on our demand, as the case may be, you agree to pay, as Additional Rent, the sum of $20.00 for each day the Unauthorized Occupant remains on the Premises.

32. TENANT HOLDOVER: If you or any occupants that were allowed access by you remain in possession of the Premises after the termination of this Lease, you agree to pay a holdover fee at the daily rental rate (current monthly rent divided by 30) plus $10.00 for each day the Rental Unit is not legally surrendered. You also agree to pay any reasonable costs incurred by us to regain possession of the Rental Unit. If you fail to completely vacate the Premises when required, you will be liable for all resulting losses suffered by us including but not limited to, future resident losses, lost Rent, legal costs and other expenses.

(The extra fees may not hold up in court, but you get the idea...)  Have your attorney review your lease.

(B) Do routine inspections of your property to ensure your lease provisions are being adhered to.  No tenant/contractor images or "video tours" - boots on the ground with eyeballs!  (I do every 6 months.)

(C) Treat your rentals like a business.  If you don't, you are providing charity.  Which is okay, if that's your jam - but the OP implies it's a problem that someone is staying in the unit for free.  So, I assume the intention was generate income.  No pay, no stay.  Act quickly, and decisively when a tenant breaks the lease.  File for eviction the day a tenant isn't paid up beyond the grace period.  Have provisions in your lease to hold them financially responsible for these costs.  Be consistent.

Your friend's situation is going to hurt, but if he comes away with information and skills to avoid this in the future, he's growing.  My rule for myself is I am only allowed to make each mistake once.  Every situation I encounter that's unpleasant from my business's point of view, I design a system and implement it so I avoid it in the future.

Good luck!