Corporate Tenant Used Rent-Stabilized Apartment for Different Directors Over Time

Landlord sued to evict corporate tenant from rent-stabilized apartment based on nonprimary residence. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. Landlord initially leased the apartment to corporate tenant Learning Environments for Children Inc. for the intended use by a single designated individual. The first renewal lease listed the corporate tenant by its current name and stated that the apartment was to be occupied by the school's director and the director's immediate family. That director moved out many years ago, and the apartment was currently occupied by another individual, who co-directed the school, along with her family. Since the only individual identified on the lease as the intended occupant had moved out, the corporate tenant wasn't entitled to a renewal lease. Listing the apartment's present occupants on the DHCR's RA-23.5 form submitted with certain renewal leases, didn't satisfy the requirement that the lease designate an individual who is occupying the apartment. A corporate tenant is entitled to a renewal lease if it meets the primary residence test, but rent stabilization was never intended to place the apartment in perpetual trust for the benefit of whomever at a particular point in time might happen to occupy a corporate office.

Capital 155 East 55th, LLC v. Garden House School of New York: 2018 NY Slip Op 28209, 2018 WL 3321318 (App. T. 1 Dept.; 7/5/18; Ling-Cohan, JP, Cooper, Edmead, JJ)