Landlord Had Other Usable Space in Building

Facts: Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for owner occupancy. Landlord wanted tenant's apartment for his 16-year-old son. Landlord claimed that his apartment was overcrowded. Landlord and his son lived in a one-bedroom apartment in the building. Landlord used another apartment in the building as his office. The super, who was landlord's girlfriend, lived in yet another apartment in the building. There were several additional, unregulated apartments in the building. By the time the case got to trial, landlord's son was attending college. Court: Landlord loses. Landlord's office apartment and the super's apartment were connected to landlord's apartment by staircases, and landlord had more room than he claimed. The leases in some of the unregulated apartments came up for renewal during the time that landlord sought tenant's apartment, and landlord couldn't explain why none of these apartments were suitable for his son. Landlord also had previously sought to evict other tenants for owner occupancy purposes. In one case, landlord tried to evict a rent-controlled tenant to recover a fifth-floor walk-up apartment for his 71-year-old mother. That case was dismissed. The court found that landlord didn't prove an actual good-faith need for tenant's apartment.

Garner v. Berger: NYLJ, 7/15/02, p. 20, col. 3 (Civ. Ct. NY; Milin, J)