Landlord Can Seek Eviction for Nonpayment of Rent

Facts: Tenants sued landlord. They claimed that landlord was evicting rent-stabilized tenants so it could use apartments for a homeless shelter and collect higher rents from the City of New York. They claimed that landlord's actions violated the deed to the property. The court granted tenants' request for an order that temporarily barred landlord from evicting tenants. Landlord later asked the court to change the order. Landlord claimed that tenants stopped paying rent after the court's ruling. With the order in place barring landlord from evicting tenants, landlord couldn't start eviction cases based on nonpayment. The court ruled against landlord, and landlord appealed. Court: Landlord wins. Tenants disputed landlord's figures about the back rent owed. But if landlord's figures were correct, tenants withheld $825,000 in rent during the year after the order was issued. This clearly would interfere with landlord's ability to operate the building and make repairs. And it wasn't the intent of the order to permit tenants to withhold rent payment. The case was sent back to the lower court for a determination of the facts.

Noble Drew Ali Plaza Tenants Assn. v. Noble Drew Ali Plaza Housing Corp.: NYLJ, 5/8/06, p. 39, col. 4 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Adams, JP, Krausman, Spolzino, Lifson, JJ)