Hello, My roommate is the only person on the lease (hereby defined as "she"). Two of us moved in later and she lived with her friend in a newly rented apt when we found out she is, beyond any doubt, seriously overcharging everyone for rent so she and her friend, who also lives here, do not have to pay anything, or pay a very small amount. Because her name is on the lease, she pays the rent, I give the money to her. I asked her how much the rent is on numerous occasions but she refuses to tell me. So I ask the landlord/owner of the property and he tells me she asked him not to tell any of the roommates what the rent was (obvious scam intention there). But the landlord give me an idea of what it is not by telling me how much the rent is but of what "would be right" to pay per person/per room, dividing fairly. In that case the rent would be around 1.600/1.700 tops and she has been charging 2.050 - and that means neither one of the 2 "roommates" paid any rent until now and on top of it made at least $450 or $350!!! Bottom line, Iīm not talking about a small sum, a 10% rental management fee. This is a huge difference. This is being robbed. As it usually happens when one thing goes wrong, it doesnīt stop there. I rented a semi-furnished room with a bed. The second night I slept in the apt I was bitten by bed bugs! First timer for this New Yorker. The nightmare began. I spent 21 days sleeping in different rooms with different people because I couldnīt sleep in my room. For 3 nights I actually had to sleep in a room with 2 people, 3 in total, because she had sublet her room while she traveled to make more money (!) Next step: sub-letters left and I moved into her room while she is away. I have since then been in her room. Bottom line, I havenīt actually moved into my room until now, one and a half months after I rented it. But it seems that I will be able to do so as the bed bug issue has been taken care of. At no time did she consider cutting her trip short and coming back to take care of the mess that the apt had become with bugs and overpopulation. I had to spend over $300 on laundry and she -the one who rented the room with the bed therefore responsible for renting me a room with bed bugs- never offered to pay the laundry expenses or provide me another bed. A couple of weeks ago, after I asked many times about the rent and the lease and after she told me she was going to sublet the rooms again each for $800(!) she told me it would be best for me to leave. Yeah, right. After me paying a rent and deposit, moving in, not having a room, getting bed bugs, sleeping in different rooms with strangers, putting up with all this crap and on top of it finding out that sheīs seriously ripping me off. Given all this, me and my also ripped off roommate want the 2 tramps out of here. I have spoken to the landlord and he says he canīt officially tell me how much the rent is or show me the lease (as she asked him not to). In fact, he says he actually hasnīt signed the lease as there were last minutes changes made and that he didnīt sign it (but that seems to be an old trick in NY). My question is: 1) what should we do? We, the two roommates who have been ripped off, want to stay and want the other two tramps to go. 2) Is what the roommate and leaseholder done illegal? (I can only think so!) 3) Could I pursue reimbursements in court? 4) Donīt I have the legal right to know how much the lease is or see a copy of the lease as a tenant? 5) Does the landlord have the legal right not to tell me how much the rent is? (I am a tenant, after all) 6) What are my options? The landlord likes me but, understandably, he doesnīt want any trouble. He just wants his rent paid on time but knows someone has to go. In all honesty, I donīt think he cares who although he is not happy with all the subletting. Subletting was not allowed in the lease (then again, he didnīt sign it!) I and my roommate have copies of the checks we gave for rent pymt and deposit and other proof that she charged for more people who stayed here, so we feel pretty covered. Initially, we havenīt thought about a confrontation as far as asking to be reimbursed but we could consider it. What we really want is for both of them to leave! Ah, I forgot, they are Brazilian. One of them has a Greencard (married/divorced some US citizen) and the other one is illegal here. Urgent help is much appreciated! Thank you, Ripped Off New Yorker