Husband Can't Evict Ex-Wife from Apartment

Husband, the original rent-controlled tenant, sued to evict his ex-wife and his son from the apartment they shared for over 35 years before divorcing in 2006. He claimed that they were month-to-month subtenants and that he had terminated their subtenancy. The wife moved into the apartment in 1969 after marrying husband. In 2004, the husband was excluded from the apartment by an order of protection issued by the criminal court. The couple divorced in 2006, but the divorce decree didn’t address their rights to the apartment or its contents. The trial court ruled for the husband. The wife appealed and won. The husband didn’t prove that there was any rental agreement with his wife. She moved into the apartment as husband’s spouse and was entitled to “possession, use and occupancy” of the apartment. This made her a tenant under the rent control law. Whether the wife personally paid the rent didn’t matter. The husband can’t seek the removal of his ex-wife and her son in a summary eviction proceeding.

Cudar v. O'Shea: NYLJ, 7/13/09, p. 33, col. 4 (App. T. 2 Dept.; Pesce, PJ, Golia, Rios, JJ)