Brooklyn landlord goes homeless: defaulter tenant lives in her home under eviction moratorium

A Brooklyn homeowner, unable to evict a non-paying tenant due to new state housing laws, was forced to live in her car for weeks. The edition told in more detail New York Post.

Shauna Ackles, 30, says she has to spend the night with friends and family when she can, and sometimes in her Toyota. For several months she tried to evict the tenant, 33-year-old Charita Patterson, and her house, but to no avail.

“I have nowhere to live until I can evict the tenant and all my money covers the mortgage, water bill and property taxes,” Ackles said. - If something is cut off, it will be considered illegal eviction. I have no additional funds to rent an apartment. "

Through a pandemic eviction moratorium and newly enacted housing regulations, Patterson can reside in the apartment until at least May 1 before any New York City housing court even considers the case. Under the new rules, New Yorkers were required to complete a Statement of Difficulty form by February 26th, which will automatically suspend their eviction. Sharita did so, claiming she was financially impacted by COVID-19 and could not move.

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According to court documents, Patterson, who owed $ 14 for a two-bedroom apartment, bought a new car during the pandemic.

The City Department of Human Services recently told Ackles that Patterson had turned down an offer to help him rent another home.

According to the homeowner, a “hardship statement” seems like a win-win for tenants.

“They don’t need to prove difficulties, and we cannot challenge the cancellation of the eviction,” said Ackles, who has been trying to evict Patterson since August.

Ackles bought a two-story semi-detached house on East 91st Street for approximately $ 477 in February 2019, spending his savings on renovating it, turning a somewhat dilapidated building into a renovated modern home.

Patterson, who had to pay $ 2 a month, was her first tenant.

Ackles thought that the situation with the unscrupulous tenant could be legally resolved by December. Believing that Patterson was about to leave, she rented the first floor of the house to an elderly woman and moved to live with friends for a while.

When Patterson backed down at the last minute and signed the Declaration of Difficulty, Ackles was effectively left homeless.

One neighbor said, "I saw her in the car in the driveway."

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Another neighbor, who heard the two women argue, said, “It's a pity. She said she was the first to buy the house. "

Patterson, a mother of three, allegedly threatened Ackles, filed 51 false complaints about the building, flooded the bathroom, left dirty diapers and debris around the property, broke the front door lock and replaced it without giving anyone a key, blocks the driveway, and illegally manufactures candles. - says the landlord in legal documents.

Patterson accused Ackles of stalking.

The case “highlights a dire lack of balance between homeowner and tenant rights in New York and is a prime example of the failure of the state government to properly address housing,” said Ackles lawyer David Gerard. He said that small homeowners are in "a truly unfair and unacceptable position."