Court Conducts Virtual Inspection of Tenant's Apartment

Tenant sued landlord in housing court, claiming various apartment conditions required repair. HPD inspected the unit and issued violations. Landlord agreed to abate the violations and agreed upon access dates. Tenant later claimed that conditions originally alleged persisted, while landlord claimed that they were repaired. Reinspection by HPD left questions unresolved. At a virtual hearing with tenant testifying from the apartment, the court suggested it do a virtual inspection of complained-of conditions as tenant testified. The court then was able to observe a hole in the bathroom ceiling that resulted from a rooftop water leak. Landlord provided no proof this was ever fixed. A crack at the back of a bathroom sink basin showed the sink leaked when in use. Landlord presented no proof that it had sought to fix that either. The court ruled for tenant, issued violations, and ordered landlord to correct the violations.

Martinez v. M Nadlan LLC: Index No. 41219/2019, NYLJ No. 1608069649, 2020 NY Slip Op 51232(U)(Civ. Ct. Bronx; 10/21/21; Ibrahim, J)