Landlord Sent Belated Renewal Notice to Tenant

Landlord sent tenant a timely notice of lease nonrenewal based on nonprimary residence. Before tenant's lease ended, landlord later sent tenant a renewal lease offer. Tenant signed the renewal lease and sent it back to landlord. Landlord never sent tenant a fully signed renewal lease. Instead, landlord sued to evict tenant for nonprimary residence after tenant's lease ended. Tenant claimed waiver due to the lease renewal offer. Landlord claimed that the lease renewal offer had no effect, since it was sent after the 90--150 window period for doing so. Landlord also claimed that it was a mistake. The court ruled for tenant and dismissed the case. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord's renewal lease offer was binding, even if it was late, since tenant accepted the offer and signed the renewal lease.

123 West 15, LLC v. Compton: NYLJ, 8/6/04, p. 25, col. 2 (App. T. 1 Dept.; McCooe, JP, Davis, Gangel-Jacob, JJ)