Landlord Fails to Prove Claimed Nuisance Conditions

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for creating a nuisance. Landlord’s termination notice claimed that tenant made alterations to the apartment without landlord’s written consent, failed to take good care of the apartment, and maintained the apartment in an offensive, objectionable, and foul manner by keeping four pigeons in the unit. The notice claimed that these actions had created dangerous conditions. Landlord also claimed that tenant repeatedly denied access for repairs and routine pest control, and that a leak from tenant’s HVAC unit caused extensive damage to the apartment below.

The trial court ruled against landlord. There was no proof that tenant made any alterations to the apartment, and no evidence that any other tenant in the building had been disturbed by tenant’s conduct. There was no proof that the leak from tenant’s apartment was caused by any negligence on tenant’s part and this was a single incident. There was no proof, as claimed, that tenant failed to provide landlord with a key to the apartment. Landlord in fact changed the apartment lock and retained several copies of the key. There was no proof presented of tenant refusing access in early 2013. The building super testified that he saw three small roaches in the kitchen during one visit but there was no proof of infestation. There was no evidence of extreme unsanitary conditions or health code violations as claimed by landlord. Keeping pigeons in and of itself didn’t constitute a nuisance. 

RSP UPA-2 Property LLC v. Zarka: 49 Misc.3d 1219(A), 2015 NY Slip Op 51811(U) (Civ. Ct. NY; 12/10/15; Kraus, J)