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Tenant wishes to evict another tenant
Anonymous1 views2 answers
My current residential lease is on my and my ex-husbands name. We got divorced in 2002, and I kept renewing the lease each year because I did not want any issue. He does not live in the apartment, but all his mail comes to the apartment. He picks up his mail every week. I don't want anything to do with him. Is there any way I can evict him being that I'm only the tenant and not the landlord.
Dear Brooklyn Tenant:
Unfortunately, New York law does not provide for an eviction proceeding between tenants. The right to the Rent Stabilization renewal lease should have been resolved during the divorce proceedings.
Right now, because your ex is a tenant, the Rent Stabilization Law compels the offer of the renewal lease to come to you and your co-tenant. The landlord does not have a right to change the nature of the tenancy.
Your ex of course may choose to surrender his tenancy to you and the landlord by an agreement where you all modify the existing lease and remove the non-domiciled tenant.
Your ex must have another residence since 2002. Why does he use your address as his address?
You may consider consulting with your matrimonial attorney to determine whether there was a resolution of the ex's tenancy rights in relation to the apartment. Years ago, the non-domiciled former spouse fought hard to maintain the tenancy connection by a renewal lease counting upon a cooperative conversion and special purchase rights for rent regulated tenants at the time of the Offering Plan.
But, you had ample opportunity since 2002 if these rights were not reserved to inform the landlord of the end of the marriage and to sign a renewal lease offer in your name alone.
You may need to wait until the next renewal lease offer comes around to deal with this. Your divorce attorney may have other information based on personal knowledge.
As previously answered there is no right of tenants evicting co tenants however since he does not leave there any longer when the time comes to renew the lease you can ask for a new lease in your name alone and show your divorce decree to show you no lomger leave together.
