Illegal Occupant in Apartment

Landlord sued to evict tenant for letting an illegal occupant live in his apartment. Landlord argued that Section 235-f of the NYS Real Property Law lets a tenant have a roommate only if tenant uses the apartment as his primary residence. The trial court ruled for tenant, finding that landlord couldn't submit evidence of tenant's nonprimary residence because landlord's previous proceeding based on nonprimary residence had been dismissed. Landlord appealed, and won. The prior nonprimary residence case had been dismissed because landlord's notice was defective not because the court found that tenant was a primary resident. So, landlord could present evidence of tenant's nonprimary residence. And landlord showed that tenant's primary residence was in New Jersey. Tenant had worked and bought a house there, had given up his NYS driver's licence, and didn't pay NYC resident income tax. So, tenant must remove the illegal occupant or face eviction.

72A Realty Associates v. Czeresnia: NYLJ,p. 27, col. 5 (2/2/95) (App. T. 1 Dept.; Parness, JP, Miller, McCooe, JJ)