Court Finds Tenant Lives Elsewhere with Her Husband

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonprimary residence. Tenant was a self-employed artist who had succeeded to the apartment as a family member of the prior rent-stabilized tenant. Landlord claimed that tenant was married and lived with her husband at the husband's rent-stabilized loft.

The court ruled for landlord after trial. Landlord's managing agent testified that he was frequently at the building but rarely saw tenant. Tenant had discontinued a landline telephone and cable TV at the apartment in 2008. Tenant's cell phone was billed to her husband's address under a family plan that she shared with her husband. Con Ed records for the apartment showed minimal usage since 2008, consistent with the use of a refrigerator or a single light bulb left running. The building super, who lived next door to the building, testified that he saw tenant at the building about twice per month. The court didn't believe tenant's claim that she and her husband lived primarily at the apartment. In pretrial questioning, tenant stated that her husband was her boyfriend and that she stayed at his place two to four nights per week. But the "boyfriend" actually was tenant's husband, which tenant claimed she lied about because it was a secret she kept from her family. While tenant kept a carefully maintained paper trail tying her to the apartment, it was uncontested that tenant and her husband had joined their lives together and stayed together every night. Tenant failed to call a single witness to support her claim that she primarily resided in the apartment. Tenant's claim that she and her husband stayed together most nights at the apartment wasn't credible.

Beacon 109 245-251 LLC v. Van Dyke: 46 Misc.3d 1219(A), 2015 NY Slip Op 50121(U) (Civ. Ct. NY; 2/13/15; Kraus, J)