I'm squatting.
Seriously. Haven't paid rent since January.
My landlord has known me and my family for years. I'll grant you that the many years we've known him he's been the contractual recipient of thousands of dollars while the apartment has been a typical NYC apartment.
No heat or hot water.
No laundry or amenities.
Old plumbing and electricity.
Crumbling roof, leaks.
Infestations of the rodent and roachy kind, etc...
After years of almost every tenant calling 311 to complain, the Department of Buildings finally showed up and under court order, turned the thermostat up. Now I can take short warm showers at the wee hours of the morning before the rest of the building wakes up.
The building is 109 years old. Parquet floors, fireplaces, Crown molding blah, blah, blah. The facade and the hallways are horribly under maintained but once you walk into the actual apartments, you'd never believe what a shithole the building looks like from the outside.
I'm not making excuses for not paying my rent. I don't have it to pay. I'm sure if the lease hadn't run out two years ago he would have had the requisite papers drawn up and taken me to court. As of now, I've promised him that he'll have his money next week.
What are the odds?
I'm not looking forward to homelessness. It'll certainly be an experience.
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