What is a Petition to Cure? I received one from my landlord. And what do I do about this??

Question

I moved into an apartment. Landlady died a week before. I have been living there since March '07 and he son is now selling the property. He without informing me sent real estate people to call me to ask me to allow them to show the apt. I am angry because before I moved I invested close to $3K in comopletely gutting out the place and puting new carpets, linoliums, premiium paint, custom shelving in closet... and I dont want to have to move leaving all of this for his profit? My lease expires in Feb'08.

Answer 1

You invested $3,000 in improvements in real estate which you did not own ??? Ummm....that was one poor investment. That being said, the son has every right to sell the property, and also has the right to not renew your lease when it expires in February.

Furthermore, he need not give you one penny for all the money you dumped into that place. All the son need do is follow the laws covering showings of your place, as laid out in your state law.

Sorry about your 'investment error', but them's the facts, ma'am.

Answer 2

If you have a valid lease and have not done anything to break the lease, then if if the apartment sells, you don't have to move out until your lease expires, at least in NY. Check your lease to make sure you haven't violated anything, and I'm assuming you've been paying your rent payments on time.

The Petition to Cure should explain exactly what the issue is. If you don't understand it, have a consultation with a real estate lawyer. They can answer all of your questions. Ask for a free consultation.

Answer 3

If you signed your lease after the landlady died, your landlord is her estate and will have to honor the lease. The landlord is making a courtesy request to show the apartment. You might take this as an opportunity to renew the lease if you want to stay.