Landlord Can Get Apartment for Family Use

Facts: Landlords husband and wife bought apartment house with 11 units for use as a residence for themselves and, eventually, for other members of their extended families. Landlords sued to evict rent-controlled tenant and her live-in boyfriend to recover their three-bedroom apartment. Landlords sought the apartment for use by husband's parents and other family members. Landlord's parents currently lived in a two-bedroom apartment with three of their other adult children and four grandchildren. Landlord husband's parents were elderly; and his father was disabled due to a stroke. Court: Landlord wins. Landlords were acting in good faith; the apartment was clearly needed for their family members. Tenant argued that her boyfriend was disabled and, therefore, they should be exempt from owner occupancy eviction. The court found that this was true. But, by law, that exemption applied only to tenant. Even though the boyfriend qualified as tenant's family member for purposes of apartment pass-on rights, this wasn't relevant in an owner occupancy case.

Kahn v. Pizarro: NYLJ, p. 23, col. 1 (9/1/93) (Civ. Ct. Bronx; Fiorella, J)