Source: http://tenant.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5024
Timestamp: 2018-09-23 00:44:02
Document Index: 242514476

Matched Legal Cases: ['§232', '§ 735', '§232', '§232', '§ 232', '§ 232', '§ 232']

TenantNet Forum • View topic - Month-to-Month Tenants in NY
Month-to-Month Tenants in NY
by Anna » Sat Aug 05, 2006 11:39 am
Tenants who do not have leases and pay rent on a monthly basis are called month-to-month tenants. In apartments that are not rent regulated, tenants who stay past the end of a lease are month-to-month tenants if the landlord accepts their rent. (Real Property Law §232-c)
In New York City, the landlord must serve the tenant with a written termination giving 30 days notice which must state that the landlord elects to terminate the tenancy and that refusal to vacate will lead to eviction proceedings. This notice must be served according to the provisions of RPAPL § 735. For example, if the rent is due on the first of each month, the landlord must serve notice by August 1st that he wants the tenant to move out by August 31st. (Real Property Law §232-a)
A month-to-month tenancy outside New York City may be terminated by either party by giving at least one month's oral or written notice. For example, if the rent is due on the first of each month, the landlord must inform the tenant by July 31st that he wants the tenant to move out by August 31st. (Real Property Law §232-b)
This notice does not automatically allow the landlord to evict the tenant; the landlord must still begin eviction proceedings in court (see: http://www.tenant.net/Court/Howcourt/index.html ).
A landlord may raise the rent of a month-to-month tenant with the consent of the tenant. However, if the tenant does not consent, the landlord can terminate the tenancy by giving notice as required.
Search the TenantNet Forum or Housing Court Decisions for 232-a, 232-b, or 232-c for many court decisions and previous forum discussions concerning this issue
§ 232-a. Notice to terminate monthly tenancy or tenancy
from month to month in the city of New York.
No monthly tenant, or tenant from month to month, shall hereafter
be removed from any lands or buildings in the city of New York on
the grounds of holding over his term unless at least thirty days
before the expiration of the term the landlord or his agent serve
upon the tenant, in the same manner in which a notice of petition
in summary proceedings is now allowed to be served by law, a
notice in writing to the effect that the landlord elects to
terminate the tenancy and that unless the tenant removes from
such premises on the day on which his term expires the landlord
will commence summary proceedings under the statute to remove
such tenant therefrom.
§ 232-b. Notification to terminate monthly tenancy or
tenancy from month to month outside the city of
A monthly tenancy or tenancy from month to month of any lands or
buildings located outside of the city of New York may be
terminated by the landlord or the tenant upon his notifying the
other at least one month before the expiration of the term of his
election to terminate; provided, however, that no notification
shall be necessary to terminate a tenancy for a definite term.
§ 232-c. Holding over by a tenant after expiration of a
term longer than one month; effect of acceptance
of rent.
Where a tenant whose term is longer than one month holds over
after the expiration of such term, such holding over shall not
give to the landlord the option to hold the tenant for a new term
solely by virtue of the tenant's holding over. In the case of
such a holding over by the tenant, the landlord may proceed, in
any manner permitted by law, to remove the tenant, or, if the
landlord shall accept rent for any period subsequent to the
expiration of such term, then, unless an agreement either express
or implied is made providing otherwise, the tenancy created by
the acceptance of such rent shall be a tenancy from month to
month commencing on the first day after the expiration of such
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2002 1:01 am
by Anna » Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:26 pm
A 30-Day Notice, Then What?
Q I am a month-to-month tenant and have received a 30-day notice of termination. Thirty days is not a lot of time to find a new place and move out. Can I request an extension? How should I go about doing this? And if the request is denied, can my landlord just throw me out without finding me a new place to stay?
A “The 30-day notice of termination is the first legal step required for a landlord who seeks possession of an apartment,’’ said Jamie Heiberger, a Manhattan landlord-tenant lawyer. If a tenant does not move out by the date in the notice, the landlord can then start a court proceeding known as a holdover action to gain possession of the apartment. Ms. Heiberger noted that the letter writer can ask the landlord for an extension either before the expiration of the notice of termination or in the context of the court proceeding.
Ideally, she said, the tenant would want to enter into a written out-of-court agreement before the holdover proceeding begins, thus keeping her name out of court records. Building owners and rental agencies have been known to check them as a way of weeding out troublesome tenants.
If the landlord denies the tenant’s request for a voluntary extension, she can make the same request of the court, Ms. Heiberger said. She explained that by law, judges can give tenants up to six months to vacate, provided they continue to pay rent.
“The amount of time given by the court will depend on things like the length of the tenancy’’ she said, “whether the tenant has children in school and it is the middle of the school year, and the landlord’s reason for wanting possession.’’
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/realestate/24qa.html
by TenantNet » Fri Feb 05, 2010 2:51 pm
A succinct explanation of month-to-month tenancies originally posted by NYHawk at http://www.tenant.net/phpBB2/viewtopic. ... 2172#42172
Saying a person is a month to month tenant with a lease is like saying someone is almost pregnant. neither one can possibly be true.
A month to month tenancy by definition means there is no lease. If the tenant gives the landlord an amount of money for a month's rent and the landlord accepts it, the tenant has the right to stay in the apartment for that month. If the process is repeated there is another month month to tenancy created. it is created one month at a time. there is no lease. This happens when a lease expires, it is not renewed and the tenant keeps paying and the landlord keeps accepting rent after the lease expired.
This does not apply to rent-regulated apartments.
Saying a person is a month to month tenant in a rent-regulated apartment is like saying someone is almost pregnant...
A little known tidbit: a landlord cannot sue a month to month tenant for not paying rent. If the tenant did not pay rent for a particular month, by the above definition of how the month to month tenancy is created, no month to month tenancy was created. In other words, because the tenant did not agree to pay a certain sum for rent for a particular month the landlord cannot sue the tenant for not paying a specific rent amount that the tenant never agreed to pay. Thus, a month to month tenancy cannot be unilaterally created (by just the landlord or the tenant); it takes two to tango the month to month dance.
It cannot be assumed that because the tenant remained in possession he or she implicitly agreed to be obligated to pay the last paid rent amount. That sounds logical, but it is not legal.
The landlord's only remedy is to bring a holdover and to seek use and occupancy.