Room Rental Dwelling Lease: Fill & Download for Free

Ideally, you discussed the mail details before signing the lease.But it may have been assumed (by you) that you could receive mail there.If it was determined you would get a PO BOX up front (or in your lease documents, house rules, policies, etc) then you should try to do this with a public or private mailbox provider. Check also general delivery or other options in the interim.At least the process for receiving mail should have been discussed in the on-boarding process to avoid misunderstandings.Also, it is unclear why you can’t get mail there unless perhaps your unit is an unregistered address (see below) or a room or area in a single family home (not an independent unit).A larger concern may be that you are in a sub-unit (like a room or basement apartment or something) that might not be zoned or permitted for a multifamily or rental dwelling. If so, it may not have proper egress or meet relevant codes.Moreover, the landlord may not want to draw attention to it by having mail sent there, which creates a record of someone else living there.And if you are also asked for cash payments, then you may have a landlord looking to not create records for tax reasons as well. Another red flag.Overall, the rental may not be a good fit, and you might want to explore moving at the end of the lease (if any) or give notice of your intent to move if month to month.Best of Luck

In 2010, The New York State Multiple Dwelling Law, Chapter 713 of the Laws of 1929 [1] was amended to prohibit short-term rentals of less than 30 days in "Class A" multiple dwellings.The NYS MDL defines a Multiple Dwellings and "Class A" thusly:A "multiple dwelling" is a dwelling which is either rented, leased, let or hired out, to be occupied, or is occupied as the residence or home of three or more families living independently of each other...A "class A" multiple dwelling is a multiple dwelling which is occupied, as a rule, for permanent residence purposes.The text of the 2010 law, which came into effect in 2011 amends the above law [2]:class A multiple dwelling shall only be used for permanentresidence purposes. For the purposes of this definition, "permanentresidence purposes" shall consist of occupancy of a dwelling unit by the same natural person or family for thirty consecutive days or more and a person or family so occupying a dwelling unit shall be referred to here-in as the permanent occupants of such dwelling unit. The following uses of a dwelling unit by the permanent occupants thereof shall not be deemed to be inconsistent with the occupancy of such dwelling unit for permanent residence purposes:(1) (A) occupancy of such dwelling unit for fewer than thirty consec-utive days by other natural persons living within the household of thepermanent occupant such as house guests or lawful boarders, roomers [AKA roommates -ty] or lodgers; or(B) incidental and occasional occupancy of such dwelling unit forfewer than thirty consecutive days by other natural persons when thepermanent occupants are temporarily absent for personal reasons such as vacation or medical treatment, provided that there is no monetarycompensation paid to the permanent occupants for such occupancyThe amendment contains a carve-out for non-profit Colleges to rent out 5% of their dorms for less than 30 days if the lessee is a student.The amendment then goes on to grandfather buildings with more than 50% of units already being used a short term rentals on January 1, 2009 or buildings that were hotels before December 15, 1961, provided that they contain two mains of egress and is of fireproof construction and is registered with the city and will file for a new Certificate of Occupancy.Likewise, it seems that the Air BnB is legal in New York City ifYou live in an apartment and you are leasing a second bedroom, provided this does not violate your lease or your Co-Op or Condo rules.The building is a single-family or two-family home (called duplexes in the rest of the country) and thus not applicable to the MDLThe building is a "Class B"--which include SROs, Single-Room-Occupancy buildings. However, most SROs are Rent Stabilized, and have a maximum legal rent [3] and other restrictions that a property-owner must follow, even if they are advertising on Air BnB. This includes issuing a lease to any tenant who asks for one.The building has a Certificate of Occupancy "apartment hotel" or "class A hotel" and occupied as a hotel... on December 15, 1961The building is in zoning district C5 ... and was initially constructed as a hotel for other than permanent residence purposes prior to December 15, 1961. These buildings still must reapply for a new Certificate of Occupancy.The building is within 1200 feet of zoning district C5 and was initially constructed as a hotel for other than permanent residence purposes in accordance with a permit that was issued prior to December 15, 1961 and was completed after December 15, 1961 and was initially occupied as a hotel for other than permanent residence purposes. These buildings still must reapply for a new Certificate of Occupancy.NYS Multiple Dwelling LawPage on nyc.govPage on mfy.orgFor more see this Curbed article:An Introduction to New York's Short Term Rental LawsDisclaimer: IANAL (I am not a lawyer)...

This is a very common problem in NYC and elsewhere, especially with smaller landlords. However, sometimes rental apartments are legitimately damaged during a tenancy, and you seem to concede that you did in fact cause some damage, albeit not more than $500 in your humble opinion.One can avoid such problems by simply photographing the rooms and main areas of the apartment when moving in and doing the same when moving out. This will document the apartment's condition in both cases and will provide evidence to refute any claim of damages that do not exist or were not caused by the tenant. I also recommend that tenants do a physical "walk-through" with the building superintendent, property manager or landlord before handing over the keys and obtaining a report of any damages observed for which you may be charged. If there are no damages, that should be noted and a copy given to you for your records. So make sure you do this for your next apartment.One can also avoid these problems by employing a method known as "living-out" the security deposit, which means using the security deposit to pay the last month's (or several month's) rent. This method is a technical violation of the lease, so I do not recommend it in all circumstances, but it is an effective way to ensure the return of the security in cases where the tenant has good reason to believe that the landlord will unlawfully withhold it.Under the New York City Multiple Dwellings Law, a landlord can retain a tenant's security deposit only if there was unpaid rent or actual physical damage to the leased premises. You do not need proof that they were lying because they need proof that they are being truthful. Since a tenant's security deposit remains the property of the tenant throughout the lease term, a landlord must prove that it is entitled to transfer a security deposit lawfully under the terms of the lease. So the landlord needs to provide itemized evidence of any damages alleged to have been caused by you and the costs to repair them, which costs must be considered "reasonable" in each inststance.What many tenants don't seem to understand is that damages may only be claimed by a landlord if the damages exceed normal use or "reasonable wear-and-tear." Painting, for example, is one such misunderstood item. Landlords are generally expected to paint in-between tenancies at their own cost and expense. If, however, a tenant has painted their previous white walls in other colors, then the landlord may indeed charge the tenant for painting costs as damages. If the walls were simply dirty with smudges, scuffs, scrapes and other conditions expected by normal occupancy, then the landlord cannot charge for painting (absent a separate lease provision that might require cleaning or painting charges). Small holes in walls, scrapes, marks from pictures, shelving and furniture are all considered reasonable wear-and-tear conditions and should never be charged to a tenant as "damages."My suggestion in your case would be for you to be proactive by sending the landlord a certified letter itemizing any actual damages (again, beyond reasonable wear-and-tear) that you are aware of causing. Advise the landlord that you expect a reasonable deduction for those items and the balance of your security is expected to be returned promptly to you within the statutory time permitted for return of your security deposit. That will at least put the landlord on notice that you will likely challenge any exaggerated or phony deductions. Good luck!