Disabled Tenant Who Caused Fires Given Probation Period as Reasonable Accommodation

Landlord sued to evict tenant based on breach of tenant's lease and nuisance. The trial court found that tenant committed a nuisance by engaging in a pattern of conduct that led to two fires in three months. But the court delayed issuance of an eviction warrant for six months to give tenant a "reasonable accommodation" for a disability under the Fair Housing Act.

Landlord appealed and lost. The trial court reasonably relied on expert testimony by a psychologist that tenant suffered from schizophrenia and unspecified mood disorder. Tenant therefore was handicapped under the FHA, and landlord must provide a reasonable accommodation if needed for tenant to keep the apartment. Landlord wasn't required to accommodate someone whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of others or whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others. But trial testimony showed that tenant's condition had greatly improved as a result of intensive treatment and social service assistance. A probationary period would acceptably minimize the risk posed to other tenants. 

529 West 29th LLC v. Reyes: Index No. 571106/18, 2019 NY Slip Op 29115 (App. T. 1 Dept.; 4/22/19; Ling-Cohan, JP, Cooper, Edmead, JJ)