Landlord Doesn't Prove Tenant Violated Probationary Stipulation

Landlord sued to evict tenant for creating a nuisance. Landlord and tenant signed a settlement agreement in court, which put tenant on probation for one year. Tenant specifically agreed not to smoke in the building's common areas, not to leave personal property in the building hallways for over 24 hours, not to ring doorbells of other apartments and then walk away, and not to cause unreasonable noise in the building. Landlord later returned to court, claiming that tenant had violated the probation agreement.

The court ruled against landlord, because its new claims either didn't fall within the scope of the agreement or were unclear. Landlord claimed that other apartment occupants were seen smoking on the fire escape. But the probation agreement didn't cover other apartment occupants. And landlord didn't claim that tenant continued to leave garbage in the hallways until after tenant responded to landlord's request to bring the case back to court. It was also unclear whether landlord's claim that tenant violated the agreement was based on personal knowledge. The probationary agreement remained in place, and landlord could come back to court again if it properly demonstrated tenant's noncompliance.

146 17th Street Associates LLC v. Ruiz: 61 Misc.3d 1223(A), 2018 NY Slip Op 51713(U)(Civ. Ct. NY; 11/2/18; Barany, J)