HPD Issued Certificate of Eviction Against Mentally Disabled Tenant Without Proper Hearing

Landlord asked HPD for a certificate of eviction against tenant. HPD scheduled a hearing, and tenant failed to appear twice. So HPD held the hearing without her and granted landlord the certificate of eviction. Landlord then brought an eviction proceeding against tenant in housing court. During that case, Adult Protective Services evaluated tenant and found she had mental health conditions that made her unable to represent or defend herself. The court appointed a guardian ad litem (GAL) for tenant, who then appealed HPD's issuance of the certificate of eviction. HPD claimed that tenant was a threat to other tenants' health and safety, so it had rationally issued the certificate of eviction due to emergency. But the court noted that HPD never mentioned tenant's health or the well-being of other tenants in its decision. HPD violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying a mentally disabled tenant a right to a hearing. The case was sent back to HPD for a full hearing.

Delgado v. Been: Index No. 102004/2016, NYLJ 10/11/18, p. 21, col. 1 (Sup. Ct. NY; 9/26/18; St. George, J)