Landlord's HDFC Status Was Unexplained in Court Papers

Landlord HDFC sued to evict month-to-month tenant after sending a 30-day termination notice, and claimed that tenant wasn't subject to any form of regulation. The trial court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and won. By statute, all HDFCs must be subject to regulatory agreements with government agencies. In this case the building was regulated by HPD. HDFCs are limited to providing housing to low-income individuals and all have maximum rentals set by the governing agency. At minimum, landlord should have explained in its court petition the facts surrounding its status as an HDFC so that the court and tenant would be on notice of whether landlord needed to have complied with good cause requirements to seek tenant's eviction. Without any supporting basis, the trial court ruled that good cause wasn't an issue in this case and didn't permit tenant's guardian ad litem to examine the good cause issue. So the appeals court found that landlord's court papers were defective, reversed the lower court's ruling, and dismissed the case. One judge dissented, arguing that tenant waived any good cause defense by failing to raise this question before the trial court.

952 St. Marks Ave. HDFC v. White: 2019 NY Slip Op 29392, Index No. 2018-315 KC (App. T. 2 Dept.; 12/13/19; Pesce, PJ, Weston [dissent], Elliot, JJ)