Can I be evicted in a month from an illegal apartment ?

Yes, your landlord can evict you, but it will probably take at least the rest of the year and perhaps another month or two after that.

Dear Staten Island Tenant: Whether the apartment is legal or not to live in, a tenant without a lease is subject to the landlord's whim to end the month to month tenancy. The only difference is that a tenant with a legal apartment continues obliged to pay rent, when the tenant of the illegal apartment never had to pay rent. Rent is not the issue for you. A tenant in an illegal apartment was never compelled by law to pay rent; but can't get back rent already paid. If this is the time your landlord decides to follow a legal process your tenancy could end after proper legal service on you of a written thirty day tenancy termination notice. Following this legal approach a notice received this month could not act to end the tenancy before October 31. That means legally if served a proper termination notice the landlord could not initiate a court case until November. Depending on whether you hire a lawyer or obtain free legal services or force yourself to read all the available information online published by the Civil Court, Housing Court and tenant websites, you could hold on for quite a while even after the landlord starts the lawsuit securing whatever money you can. You could consider Catholic Charities and the city's Homeless Prevention programs. An illegal eviction occurs when the landlord skips the niceties of the judicial process knocks down the door or changes your locks. That is a crime. The police could make an arrest. The Housing Court could order you are restored to the illegal apartment. Is your landlord likely to go rogue or follow the law?

You should also consider the fact that once your landlord sues you in Housing Court your name will appear on a tenant "blacklist." Reporting agencies record the names of all tenants sued in New York City Housing Court. Landlords refer to this list when screening prospective new tenants. If your name appears on this list you will have a difficult time renting a new apartment. You should stop paying rent in your current illegal apartment and use that money to relocate. You can also seek relocation assistance from the New York City Human Resources Administration.