Landlord Co-op Can Stop Shareholder Tenants from Using Roof

Landlord cooperative corporation sued two shareholder tenants, claiming that it had the right to the roof adjacent to their two apartments and asking the court to stop those tenants from using the roof space. The court ruled for landlord. Tenants appealed and lost. Each tenant's proprietary lease defines the apartment as "the rooms in the building as partitioned on the date of the execution of this lease designated by the above-stated apartment number, together with their appurtenances and fixtures and any closets, terraces, balconies, roof, or portion thereof outside of said partitioned rooms, which are allocated exclusively to the occupant of the apartment." This lease clause was ambiguous. But the co-op offering plan, which is the controlling document that gives the proprietary lease meaning, makes clear that no outdoor space was allocated to tenants' apartments. The proprietary lease also clearly stated that there was no waiver of landlord's rights, so it didnt matter if tenants had used the roof area for some period before objection by the co-op. Landlord was entitled to an injunction to stop tenants from continuing to use the roof.

Fairmont Tenants Corp. v. Braff: Index No. 152489/15, 2018 NY Slip Op 04083 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 6/7/18; Manzanet-Daniels, JP, Tom, Andrias, Kapnick, Singh, JJ)