Eviction Case Against Tenant of Damaged Apartment Dismissed for Retaliatory Eviction

Landlord sued to evict tenant in 2022 after terminating her tenancy. Tenant claimed retaliatory eviction and constructive eviction. Tenant had moved out of her basement apartment on a temporary basis several years earlier after Hurricane Ida caused severe damage. At that time, landlord and tenant had agreed that the unit was uninhabitable. Tenant moved back into the unit in February 2022.

The court ruled for tenant in part. The court denied tenant's claim for constructive eviction because she never surrendered possession and eventually returned to the apartment. But the court dismissed the eviction proceeding because landlord failed to rebut the presumption that the action was retaliatory. The eviction case was filed within a year after tenant requested repairs and got HPD to inspect the apartment.

Zhao v Zhang: Index No. 300702/22, 2022 NY Slip Op 32967(U)(Civ. Ct. Queens; 9/6/22; Lansden, J)