Roommmate moved his girlfriend in with him(in NYC)

[NYCGuy]

Hi

I have a one-yr lease on an apartment. I rented out a room to my current rommmate. I have a written month-to-month agreement with him. I was out for a month and in my absense he moved his girlfriend into the apartment because "she had problems with her roommate and had no place to go".

I had a chat with my roommate and told him that I had very rented out the apartment to only one person and there is no room for a third person. His girlfriend moved out in a few days but continued to store her belongings in the apartment (some in common areas). Now she is back.

I intend to give my roommate a 30 day notice to quit. However I do not want his girlfriend to continue living here either in the 30 day period.

My specific question is can I prevent the girlfriend from entering the apartment.? She is not on his lease - is she trespassing?

[aaron]

Probably not - but it may depend upon the terms of your lease. New York has a law which permits every tenant to have a roommate, to protect unmarried couples from eviction.

[NYCGuy]

You are right, the law in NYC does allow ME to have only ONE additional occupant (and more only if they are dependent children of the occupant). I have to give the information of the additional occupant to the landlord within 30 days of such a request.

I do not think the additional roommate can have their own additional roommate and so on. Given that, can I ask her to leave the apartment and get back the keys (that were given to her without my permission) under the grounds that it is an invasion to my privacy, or simply trespassing?

[NYCGuy]

btw, this is a one-br apt converted into two with a temp wall

[aaron]

I'm not trying to argue that all roommates can have roommates, etc. - just that your rights, and those of your roommate, depend upon the full facts and circumstances of your case, including the lease agreement. Your agreement may open the door (or, at least, not close it) in relation to your roommate's girlfriend. You also have the issue of whether she "lives" with him or is a guest, which may raise tricky issues of proof.

[NYCGuy]

My landlord is actually fanatical about me having anyone in the apartment, and did not even want my immediate family to visit me here. I told him he cannot restrict me from having my family and ONE roommate. He is really pissed off, but thats fine because he can refuse to renew the lease, and I intend to move out anyway.

The presence of a third person in the apartment can in fact be used by him to terminate my lease now.

[aaron]

And that ties into why it is helpful to have a good, written agreement with any roommate, explicitly outlining what can and cannot happen in the apartment. It is possible that one of the NY City tenants' unions offers its members a roommate agreement that complies with NY State laws and NY City ordinances.