By Robert Griswold
Question: Please let me know what tenant-landlord regulations apply to renting an illegal rental unit that is part of the two-family home we lease. We live in a rental unit on the lower floor, while a single mother and her child live in the upper flat. The 37-year-old unemployed son of our landlords lived in this bootleg rental unit off the garage rent-free, even using the utilities connected to our flat. Last month, he accidentally set the place on fire and the police discovered drug paraphernalia in the son's room while the firemen were here.
A neighbor who is a law school student told us that we had the right to file a civil suit citing endangerment if the son was not gone within 30 days. The father apologized and arranged for him to be gone in 24 hours. Now they're cleaning, painting and repairing the small room. We - and our upstairs neighbor - were hoping to finally use the backyard undisturbed. There is no street number, no mailbox or any indication that a third apartment exists. Any mail the son got came to our address, and I heard him give our house number to the fireman who asked for his address the day of the fire. Can the landlords rent out this illegal unit again?
Property manager Griswold replies:
I would immediately contact the code enforcement office and anonymously report what you believe to be an illegal unit. Hopefully, they will investigate and take action to prevent your landlord from attempting to rent the unit to another dangerous individual like their son. Of course, you really need to consider whether you want to be the tenant of a landlord that would allow your lives to be placed in jeopardy by allowing a dangerous individual to live illegally next to you in the first place. While some will empathize with the landlord's challenge as a parent trying to help his child, I believe it is completely unacceptable and a clear indication of poor judgment by the landlord. I would seriously advise that you find another place to live.
If that will take some time and you still want to prevent the landlord from illegally renting the room below you, you may want to contact the fire department and give them additional information for their report. For example, you may want to clearly explain that the fire began in an area that was not part of your rental unit but an area that apparently is being occupied by a relative of the landlord. Typically, the fire department will conduct its own investigation and/or turn the matter over to the code enforcement to investigate the legality of the specific rental unit where the fire originated. Either way, you need to make sure this scenario cannot occur again.
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