218 Main Talking Points
Code violations
Harassment
Rental history
Retaliatory eviction
Text messages
Emails
Emotional/psychological/physical toll
Common types of wrongful evictions:
Retaliatory
Not following State Eviction Procedures
Privacy violations or Harassment
Breach of Quiet Enjoyment
According to most state laws, unless your rental property lease agreement specifies otherwise, there is an implied covenant or warranty built into every lease. Simply put, this entitles the tenant quiet enjoyment of the premises while leasing the home. Should a landlord breach a tenants rights to quiet enjoyment of the premises, and the tenant feels compelled to leave the property, the landlord may be held responsible for all expenses related to this “constructive eviction.”
I have paid $1500/mth (after utilities) for over a year to stay where I have been staying.
If you commit any of the following types of behaviors towards your tenants, you may find yourself facing a court summons:
What is Considered Harassment by a Landlord?
Interruption of utilities such as electricity or water.
Improper entry into your property.
Letting others into the residence without due notice or consent.
Violation of rights via gossip.
Showing up at a tenant’s workplace to discuss landlord/tenant-related issues.
I have CFS, chronic migraines, ulcerative colitis, gastritis and IBS. Stress affects me worse than it affects most people. Dealing with having to get everything together to prove the kind of person I’m dealing with is exhausting.
My health is not good. I have told Stephen this time and time again and he has chosen to ignore it. Since getting home and seeing papers taped to my door I have been filling the toilet with blood - I no longer get my period, so, deduce - and I have had constant stomach pain. I have lost 10 lbs in the last 2 weeks.
I first moved into 218 Main in September of 2020. I was in apartment 5. The neighbors were constantly fighting at all hours of the night to the point that it would escalate into either myself calling the cops or someone else in the building or nearby calling the cops. The girlfriend started knocking on my door at 1, 2, 3 in the morning and I had to call the cops more times than I can count. I began to feel like a prisoner in my own home and stopped using my living room. I reached out to Stephen about this every single time it happened. I told him how much it was affecting my life and how disruptive it was. It was constant. It’s been over 2 years and they’re still in the apartment. I also had no smoke detectors, only wires haphazardly hanging out of the wall.
When I was told apartment 4 would be empty I jumped at the chance to get out of the situation I was in. It was on the other side of the building and I would no longer have to deal with the neighbors screaming at each, the cops coming, an ambulance coming, one of them knocking on my door, someone getting arrested - the list goes on. I was happy to move into apartment 4 because I didn’t have the physical or emotional strength to move much further than across the hall. This was the 4th time in a year that I had moved in Saugerties between my residential and commercial spaces, and I just didn’t - and still don’t - have another big move in me.
I was only able to enjoy quiet in my bedroom in apartment 4 for a total of 2 months, both being when the apartment was between tenants and vacant. The tenants who moved in after me were an absolute nightmare. It is my belief that they were using the kitchen as a commercial kitchen as they were in there cooking from 8 am until 10 pm every single day. I left my music on loud ONE TIME, ( at 11 AM) went down to my store - I own a clothing boutique in town - and within 10 minutes Stephen texted me saying that the neighbors complained and could I please turn the music down. The boyfriend then came down to my store, got in my face and threatened me. Stephen did nothing. Why? Most likely because he thought it was ok seeing as he came into my store not long after and was screaming at me. (I have it recorded). He was so loud that the owner of a nearby restaurant heard him and came into the store to “shop” to make sure I was ok. I was NOT ok.
There is ZERO insulation between my bedroom wall and the kitchen wall in apartment 5, and the doors to the hallway are residential doors that aren’t sealed. The washer and dryer are directly on the other side of the door that goes into my bedroom. I hear them going nonstop. It’s like living in a laundromat. Between the nonstop banging in the kitchen behind me and the machines going I CANNOT use my bedroom. I have chronic migraines, ulcerative colitis and CFS. That means that I need to be able to sleep at any time of the day - which I should be able to do. I cannot sleep in that bedroom ever. Stephen said that he was going to insulate the wall and redo the kitchen after the nightmare tenants moved out. He didn’t. I was not staying at my apartment for almost 6 months but continuing to pay rent on something that basically was serving as a storage unit. I have a Tiny House that I pay for weekly that is an hour away from here; there is no running water or electricity.
Stephen makes up rules, creates “laws” and does what he wishes. On top of dealing with the stress of the noise and not being able to use my apartment I now have to deal with being worried that some creep is coming to my apartment to serve me papers like I’m some lowlife who won’t pay rent. I have paid rent every single month - I in fact OVERPAID - with ZERO problems, even though my living situation was horrible. My rent is currently going into a bank account - not because I have any intention of paying him, but to show my willingness and ability to do so if he had done what he said he was going to do in FEBRUARY of 2020. Stephen is a bully, especially when it comes to women. He does not like it when someone stands up to him.
I have reached out to him about this more times than I can count. At what point would you say enough is enough??? I believe most would have said so long before I did.
I cannot physically deal with the stress of this anymore. I have been saying this to Stephen for MONTHS. He has NO VALID argument for what he has done to me or what he has failed to do for me as a tenant. NONE. ZERO. ZIP. ZILCH. There are multiple reasons that I have to sue Stephen, and I plan on doing so.
Best,
Vanessa Harrison
Owner
Meraki Boutik
86 Partition St.
Saugerties, NY 12477
