Landlord Got Me Sent To Collections

Location: NYC, USA

I've been a tenant for almost 3 years in a condo in NYC. I pay rent to the owner directly via Zelle monthly.

In December 2025, the owner died. Someone in her family has taken over the apartment as it dictated in the will.

The last conversation I had with my landlord, before she passed was to ask to break the lease early due to expecting a new child in the family and needing more space. She said no.

Anyway, the guy who's the landlord *now* has already had two BIG strikes against him. #1. We didn't have heat for 3 days and he didn't reply to my communication until after I dealt with it with the super and the heat was restored. I don't pay for heat. It's included. Apparently there was a building -wide issue and as the owner he was alerted but didn't notify me.

#2. Now, today I got an email that there's an overdue balance on the account and it's been sent to collections. I have 7 days or they'll be sending it to legal. This isn't on me. I have always paid the landlord directly and she managed the property with the management company.

I forwarded him the email and indicated it was time-sensitive. He didn't reply yet.

I just want out of the lease and this situation.

Do I have any leverage? I have a standard lease (like the kind you print out from the Internet) and it's signed through July 2026. He did not issue me a new lease when he took over the property.

I already explained my situation and asked the new landlord for an out and he said no. But he isn't holding up his end of the deal and it's impacting me.

Thanks for the advice!