Acceptance of ERAP Funds in Licensee Holdover Doesn't Dismiss the Case

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant's daughter after tenant died. The case was delayed, initially by occupant's filing of a Hardship Declaration, then by her pending ERAP application. After ERAP funds were accepted, occupant sought dismissal of the case. But the court ruled that, even if landlord accepted ERAP funds in a licensee holdover proceeding, the case is not dismissed. The court stated that, if the Legislature had intended for non-nuisance proceedings to be dismissed if a petitioner accepted ERAP funds, "it would have explicitly stated so[.]" Such an arrangement -- where landlord agrees to accept funds in exchange for the tenant or occupant receiving a temporary reprieve from an eviction –- furthers the purpose of the statute that seeks to prevent a flood of evictions at a time when the state is seeking to control the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the landlord could maintain the proceeding but couldn't actually evict occupant for 12 months if it's determined it accepted the ERAP payment.

Park Cent. I LLC v Price: Index No. L&T 300011/20, 2022 NY Slip Op 31909(U)(Civ. Ct. Bronx; 5/25/22; Shahid, J)