Landlord Can't Get Tenant's Apartment for Himself and Wife

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant, claiming that he needed the apartment for personal use. Landlord said he and his wife wanted to move into tenant's apartment and leave his young adult daughter in their existing apartment. The daughter was about to graduate from college and presently lived with her boyfriend in landlord's apartment with landlord and his wife. Tenant claimed that landlord's termination notice was insufficient and questioned landlord's good-faith intent. At trial, landlord said that he and his wife also wanted to live closer to his older daughter, who lived in tenant's building and was about to have a baby. And tenant's apartment had access to the backyard and to the basement.

The court ruled against landlord, finding that landlord hadn't proved his good-faith intent to occupy tenant's apartment. Landlord's younger daughter didn't testify in court. Tenant showed that, in a prior eviction proceeding, landlord had recovered another apartment in his building for the older daughter but she never moved in, and landlord instead rented that apartment to a new tenant. Landlord didn't mention wanting to live near his older daughter in his termination notice. Landlord also already had access to the backyard. And the court wasn't convinced that the older daughter's employment as an RA while in college was the only reason she didn't move into the other apartment previously recovered, renovated, and rerented by landlord. 

Naroznik v. Lisowski: Index No. L&T 95426/12, NYLJ 1202619567715 (Civ. Ct. Kings; 9/6/13; McClanahan, J)