Defective Rent Demand Resulted in Dismissal of Eviction Proceeding

Landlord cooperative corporation sued to evict shareholder tenant for nonpayment of rent. The court granted tenant's request to dismiss the case, finding that landlord's rent demand didn't contain a good-faith approximation of rent owed. Landlord claimed that tenant hadn't paid rent between November 2017 and February 2018. Its rent demand included items of "additional rent" for a $900 inspection fee, and a HPD violation clearing charge, along with $1,600 in attorney fees.

Landlord appealed and lost. The HPD fees included in the rent demand didn't fall within the coverage of items permitted as "additional rent" under tenant's proprietary lease. And, while the lease permitted certain attorneys fees to be added, landlord's submitted legal bills were redacted without explanation and therefore insufficient to support its demand. The improper fees and the claimed attorneys' fees made up a substantial portion of landlord's total rent demand. So the rent demand was defective and the case was properly dismissed as a matter of law.

Thomas Jefferson Owners Corp. v. Lokshin: Index No. 2019-418 QC, 2020 NY Slip Op 51430(U)(App. T. 2 Dept.; 11/20/20; Aliotta, PJ, Elliot, Toussaint, JJ)