Q: My spouse and I live in a rent-stabilized apartment with a bedroom in Manhattan. We are both in the rental agreement. Our good friends move away from the city and her son in college age will live in our apartment in our apartment in our apartment. Our landlord recently installed a surveillance camera in the lobby, which we call the spy chamber. The landlord asked neighbors about their guests after they were caught in front of the camera. I know we are asked about the son of our friends. What are our rights? Do I have to answer the landlord's questions? Are there any restrictions on how long someone can stay with us?
A: As a tenant -stabilized tenant, you can have guests for temporary periods. But your landlord will probably have questions.
“There is no reason for the tenants not to inform the landlord that the son of the college age of close friends will remain as their guest during the majority of his school breaks,” said Arlene F. Boop, a lawyer who represents the tenant .
In their situation in which they and their spouse are both on their lease and live there, the state law indicates that they cannot take over any other “roommate”, although there are some ambiguities here. In general, the difference between a guest and a roommate or underpinning is that a guest does not move in furniture and does not pay any rent.
In general, guests have to spend less than 30 days after the other, but there is no rule that prohibits the frequency that a guest can stay in one year, said Ms. Boop. Landlords, often at alarm violations, can ask themselves about all occupants that share the unit and the questions must be answered within 30 days, she said. (In addition, the camera is legal as long as it is not directed into someone's apartment.)
“A landlord can be concerned about family members who could then claim a successor claim if the tenants are moved to the records or a non -binding sub -tenant,” she said. “And a landlord who comes to someone who comes new and goes into a unit does not know the situation of this person.”
However, your landlord probably does not want to spend the time and the money in order to pursue legal steps in this situation, “in which the tenant only accepts a regular guest with you,” said Steven Ben Gordon, a lawyer who represents the tenant.
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