Lease Required for 3 Family (Brooklyn, NY) - Landlord Forum thread 362312

Lease Required for 3 Family (Brooklyn, NY) by Tamara on February 3, 2023 @14:16

Hi,
An attorney told me years ago, when she represented me in evicting a tenant, that I'm not required to provide tenants with a lease because I'm a three-family owner. However, that was before DeBlasio and the more stringent tenant protections he ushered in.
Is this still true, or has this changed? I'm asking because one of my tenants requested that I not renew his lease five years ago because he wanted to keep his options open; he recently asked me for a lease out of the blue.

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Re: Lease Required for 3 Family (Brooklyn, NY) by Garry on February 3, 2023 @19:57	[ Reply ]

Your attorney back then was probably correct-----that you were not REQUIRED by law to have a lease. However, that does not mean you shouldn't have one. Obviously, any written lease anywhere in the country, is preferable to an oral lease. You should check with your attorney again, now, and see if any laws have changed. I, personally, have went to a M2M lease about 15 years ago. I found that a 6 month, or 1 year lease tied MY hands more than the tenant's. Now, if I want a T out, I simply give them a 30 day notice to move,(even if it's in the middle of the winter), without having to wait til the end of the lease to finally come. Just tell your T you are sticking to a M2M lease as long as he wants to stay there.