Landlord Must Pay NYCHA Back $28,000 for Overpaid Rent Subsidy

NYCHA sued landlord condominium unit owner for failing to reimburse $28,000 for overpayment of Section 8 subsidy payments. Landlord had rented his apartment to tenant while NYCHA made monthly Section 8 payments to landlord on tenant's behalf. Landlord later sued to evict tenant, who was evicted in June 2014. But NYCHA continued to make payments to landlord through April 2016 and now sought to recover this overpayment. The court ruled for NYCHA, finding that it overpaid landlord by subsidizing the rent of evicted tenant. Landlord claimed that the city marshal had let tenant back into the unit but didn't provide proof. And even if tenant illicitly occupied the apartment after eviction, this didn't mean landlord was entitled to Section 8 payments on her behalf as no provisions were made for tenant's re-entry, and NYCHA was required to stop payments to landlord upon tenant's eviction.

NYCHA v. Ali: Index No. 451571/2018, NYLJ No. 1597093248 (Sup. Ct. NY; 6/24/20; Lebovits, J)