Rent Too Damn High So McMillan Moved to Brooklyn?

The rent may be “too damn high” but that’s not entirely the reason why Jimmy McMillan may be out of a rent-stabilized Manhattan apartment.

The New York Daily News reports the 2010 gubernatorial candidate was served with an eviction notice “ordering him out of his $872-a-month rent stabilized East Village apartment.”

Did Jimmy McMillan Move to Brooklyn?

We all know how McMillan felt about the cost of living in Manhattan but non-payment does not appear to be the only issue at hand. Rather, McMillan’s landlord claims the apartment in question is not McMillan’s primary residence and that he actually lives in Brooklyn.

One obligation of a rent stabilized tenancy is that the tenant actually lives in the subject apartment.

Jimmy’s Rent vs. Fair Market Value = Not Too Shabby

But Jimmy isn’t paying the rent. According to the Daily News:

“McMillan insists there’s no beef over the rent tab — in fact, the landlord had repeatedly refused to accept his rent check because, he claims, they’re trying to get rid of low-paying tenants like him so they could rent the place out for much more money.”

He is in a rent stabilized apartment paying $872/month when the fair market value is about $3000/month. Despite that he isn’t paying the rent. The rent isn’t too damn high – it’s too bad he doesn’t pay it.

Fortunately for McMillan, who has filed suit to delay the holdover proceeding, it is his landlord who will bear the burden of proving the rent-stabilized apartment is not McMillan’s primary residence.