Landlord Can't Get Rent-Stabilized Apartment for His Mother

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant. Landlord claimed that he needed tenant's fourth-floor apartment for his 75-year-old mother and 83-year-old father. Landlord lived on the third floor of the building. In the lease nonrenewal notice, landlord claimed that his parents were in poor health and increasingly unable to care for themselves. Landlord said that he wanted his parents to live in the building so that he could assist them.
The court ruled against landlord, finding that landlord didn't show good faith and the court didn't believe landlord. By the time the trial took place, landlord's father had died, so he was only seeking the apartment for his mother. Contrary to the claims in landlord's termination notice, landlord's father had moved back to Iran and was there for five years before he died. Landlord's mother lived in a first-floor one-bedroom apartment in Queens. Landlord testified that his mother was in good health for her age, could take care of herself, and could walk up to the fourth floor of the building. Landlord's mother also testified that she was in good health. There was no proof that her health was failing or that she needed landlord to take care of her. Landlord's mother also owned a building in the Bronx, and there was conflicting testimony about whether she intended to move there. She had made a commitment to the City of New York when she bought that building that she would live there as her primary residence for three years. But she never moved in.

Mozaffari v. Fisher: L&T Index No. 057053/05, 2008 WL 4402749 (9/5/08) (Civ. Ct. NY; Cohen, J)