Landlord Doesn't Have to Re-Admit Rent-Stabilized Tenant After Fire

(Decision submitted by Arun Perinbasekar of the Rockville Centre law firm of Sidrane & Schwartz-Sidrane, LLP, attorneys for the landlord.)

Rent-stabilized tenant moved into landlord's building in March 2001. In November 2002, tenant was forced to vacate after a fire made the building uninhabitable. The building remained vacant for over 10 years while tenant paid landlord $1 per month in reduced rent under a DHCR rent reduction order. Landlord also continued to renew tenant’s lease, sometimes voluntarily but in 2009 because it was ordered to do so by the DHCR. In March 2012, another fire caused extensive damage to the building, requiring a gut renovation. Landlord sold the building and new landlord did a gut renovation, rebuilding the interior, adding two floors, and reducing the number of apartments to make bigger units. New landlord rejected tenant’s attempts to pay the reduced rent while still not returned to occupancy.

Tenant then sued landlord in 2014, claiming wrongful eviction and breach of his rent-stabilized lease. He asked the court to order new landlord to restore his apartment to a habitable condition and permit re-occupancy. The court ruled against tenant. The building had been effectively demolished, and landlord therefore wasn’t required to offer tenant an apartment in a building that didn’t previously exist. 

Gregoretti v. 92 Morningside Ave., LLC: 2017 N.Y. Slip Op. 30655(U), 2017 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1217 (Sup. Ct. NY; 4/5/17; Kern, J)