Landlord Can Seek Eviction of Loft Tenant Due to Chronic Nonpayment of Rent

Landlord sued to evict loft tenant for chronic nonpayment of rent. Tenant asked the court to dismiss the case without trial. Landlord, in turn, asked the court to rule in its favor without trial. Tenant claimed that landlord couldn't seek eviction for chronic nonpayment under the Loft Law. But, since compliance with the Loft Law would result in issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy and ultimately conversion of the unit into a rent-stabilized apartment, Loft Board Regulation No. 2-08.1 should be read in connection with the Rent Stabilization Code to permit landlord to maintain a claim of chronic rent delinquency in violation of a substantial obligation of tenant's lease. Tenant also claimed that landlord's termination notice was defective because landlord should have sent tenant a 30-day termination notice. But tenant's lease required a five-day notice before terminating the lease, and a notice to cure wasn't required in a chronic nonpayment case. Otherwise, there were questions of fact that barred deciding the claim before trial. Here was no claim in answer to prior proceedings that tenant withheld rent based on landlord's failure to make repairs. But there were also questions as to whether tenant's rent history constituted a pattern of chronic nonpayment. 

Malach v. Challen: Index No. L&T52757/19, 2019 NY Slip Op 29179 (Civ. Ct. Kings; 6/14/19; Wang, J)