What rights does my roomate have to kick me out of the 2 bedroom apt.
that we share. He has lived here for several years and he is the only
person on the lease. I am not on the lease. This is not a situation
that has anything to do with rent or bills. I always pay everything on
time. We have a dispute over a particular area of space that is joined
with the room that I rent. I live in Brooklyn, NY. Our apartment is
not rent stabilized.

Hi pmarshall,

Your roommate must formally [legally] evict you if he wants you to
leave, and there is a 30 day waiting period. Roommates are protected
by the Unlawful Evictions Law.

Here's an excerpt from a very informative page:

Lynn Armentrout is a Tenant Attorney practicing in New York City, this
is written from the 'leaseholders' perspective but it answers your
question nicely..

FROM:  Roommate Advice
By Lynn Armentrout, Esq.
October 2005 (revised February 2006)

What to do when you want your roommate to leave 
http://www.tenant.net/alerts/articles/roommates.html
..."If you are the tenant of record and your roommate is not, and you
would like your roommate to leave, and your roommate has been in the
apartment for more than 30 days, and your roommate refuses to leave
voluntarily, then, unfortunately, you have only one recourse -- a
formal eviction proceeding. This writer does not prosecute (only
defends) eviction proceedings. The law does not require that you be
represented by a lawyer in Housing Court, and the Court provides
assistance to parties without lawyers. However, without a lawyer it
may be more difficult to get the results you want. There are many
lawyers in the City of New York who make their living prosecuting
eviction proceedings..."


FURTHERMORE.... This might come in handy:

[click the link for more information. There's a long list things your
roommate may NOT do.]

THE RIGHTS OF TENANTS UNDER THE UNLAWFUL EVICTIONS LAW
http://www.tenant.net/Rights/CTRC/ctrcf003.html
..."In 1982, the City Council of New York passed the Unlawful
Evictions Law, a local ordinance making it illegal for any person
without a court order to evict, or attempt to evict, a tenant who
either has a lease or has lawfully occupied a dwelling unit for
thirty or more consecutive days. The law also applies to tenants
protected under the hotel stabilization provisions of the rent
stabilization law where the tenant has made a request for a
lease.

Subtenants, roommates and relatives are also protected by the
Unlawful Eviction Law. These occupants do not have to be on the
lease or have made direct payments to the landlord to be
protected. He or she, however, must have lived there for at least
thirty consecutive days..."


I'm certain these two references meet your needs. Good luck to you,
although you really don't need it, the law is on your side.


~~Cynthia


Search terms used at Google:
"New York" roommate eviction law  [lots more here]
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=%22New+York%22+roommate+eviction+law

---

Clarification of Answer by cynthia-ga on 18 Mar 2006 22:53 PST

The 30 day waiting period is not to be confused with the 30 day
requirement that one must live in the domicile to be covered by the
law. It takes a minimum of 30 days to evict, and from what you've
said, this is a 'dispute,' not a matter of failing to pay rent.

That was more thatn a $2.00 question.  I hope you got a good tip.