Couple banishes hellish roommate, a real estate agent

An elderly couple finally ridded themselves of a terrifying roommate after a court agreement was reached.

Eugene and Nina Sarver reclaimed their apartment at 241 West 97th Street from the grips of Lawrence Lee, the New York Post reported. Lee, a real estate agent, had allegedly been using legal loopholes to avoid paying rent at the Upper West Side pad for a month and a half.

“I’m so happy he’s out! He is a criminal … sadistic and a dark presence in the apartment,” Eugene told the Post.

The saga started three years ago, when the Sarvers leased Lee a room for about $1,000 a month. Issues quickly arose, however, as the couple alleged Lee stopped paying rent in June 2021 and proved to be both physically and verbally abusive to the couple.

The controversy became so severe that Douglas Elliman, Lee’s employer prior to initial reporting by the Post, cut ties with the agent. Then, the firm went one step further and offered its own lawyers to the Sarvers.

A year ago, the couple became so fed up with Lee that they left their own apartment and relocated to a nursing home in the Bronx, though they kept paying rent on their old place. They also claimed to spend time in the hospital due to the stress of the situation.

Lee allegedly found a way to skirt eviction — despite his rent nonpayment — by manipulating the state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program. Because an application prevented delinquent tenants from eviction, Lee supposedly kept reapplying for assistance every time he was rejected.

Even after Lee left ahead of the Tuesday deadline, the battle between the two sides is not over yet. They are still feuding over $23,000 the Sarvers claim Lee owes at the apartment for rent and utilities.

The Sarvers, meanwhile, are considering ditching their apartment altogether, sensing an opportunity to sell it back to the landlord so it can be flipped as a condo.

— Holden Walter-Warner