Landlord v. Tenant: January 2018

RENT

Landlord Can Evict Tenant for Chronic Nonpayment of Rent

Landlord sued to evict tenant for chronic nonpayment of rent. Landlord and tenant signed a settlement agreement in court that put tenant on probation. Tenant then failed to pay rent on time in June 2015 and didn’t pay any rent between November 2015 and March 2016. Tenant also didn’t present any excuse for her default. The court ruled that landlord could proceed with eviction. Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant had an extensive history of rent defaults, now owed $9,000 in back rent, presented no proof of any ability to pay the arrears, and showed no proof of a medical condition that would have excused her default while on probation.

·       RSL 121 East 82nd LLC v. Finn: 57 Misc.3d 156(A), 2017 NY Slip Op 51632(U) (App. T. 1 Dept.; 11/30/17)

SUBLETTING

Notice to Cure Sufficiently Stated Grounds for Illegal Sublet Claim

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for illegal subletting. The court granted tenant’s request to dismiss the case. Landlord appealed, and the case was reopened. Landlord’s notice to cure reasonably stated the nature of landlord’s claim and the facts needed to prove the existence of grounds for eviction. Landlord claimed that tenant was living at a specified address other than the apartment and had breached a substantial obligation of her tenancy by unlawfully subletting or assigning the apartment to a named individual without landlord’s consent and in violation of Real Property Law Section 226-b and Rent Stabilization Law Section 2524.3(a) and 2524.3(h).

·       East Village RE Holdings LLC v. McGowan: 57 Misc.3d 155(A), 2017 NY Slip Op 51623(U) (App. T. 1 Dept.; 11/29/17)