Protect Your Legal Rights by Making a Lease Request
by: Goddard-Riverside Community Center - West Side SRO Law Project
SRO, Rooming House, and Hotel Tenants
PROTECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS!
Make a "Lease Request"
Tenants who live in SROs, Rooming Houses, and Hotels have important legal rights. Some of these rights are provided by the Rent Stabilization Laws. These rights include:
Tenants who have lived in a stabilized building for six months automatically become rent-stabilized tenants. Tenants who have lived in a stabilized buildings for less than six months can become rent-stabilized by making a lease request. The protection is triggered by asking. Once you ask for a lease, you are a rent-stabilized tenant even if your landlord doesn't give you a lease. ASKING IS ENOUGH.
You should make your lease request in writing. You may use language similar to that in the form letter below.
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[Date]
Management
Name of Hotel & Address
New York, NY Zip
To whom it may concern:
I hereby request, pursuant to the Rent Stabilization Law and Code, a lease for six months for my tenancy in [room #] at [the address and/or the name of hotel] where I reside. I have been informed that under the law this entitles me to all the rights of permanent tenants. These rights include the right to be charged the legal, regulated rate for my room, and the return of taxes.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
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You should make your lease request in WRITING. Use the language in the box to the right. Send one copy of your letter to the hotel management, certified mail. Send a second copy to the West Side SRO Law Project. Hand a copy to the hotel management. It's a good idea to have a witness when you give your lease-request letter to management.
You should be prepared in case your landlord takes illegal action, such as locking you out. Once you make a lease request, you cannot be legally locked out. Call the police. If the police don't help you to get back in, get legal assistance.
THE WEST SIDE SRO LAW PROJECT
647 Columbus Ave., New York, NY 10025
212-799-9638
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