Landlord sued to evict two rent-stabilized tenants for owner-occupancy purposes. Landlord planned to convert the entire 13-unit building into a single-family home for the primary residence of himself, his fiancée, and her two children. Landlord described a plan to take back the two tenants’ apartments, without any plan to occupy them or begin renovating all apartments until much later, after the entire building was recovered. Tenants claimed that the plan was too vague. The court ruled for tenants and dismissed the case. Landlord appealed and won. Landlord's nonrenewal notices described “recovery for personal use and occupancy” within the meaning of the Rent Stabilization Code. Any questions concerning the feasibility of landlord's proposed renovations or the ultimate question of landlord's good-faith intention to occupy tenants' apartments or the building as a whole can be addressed in pretrial questioning or at trial. Landlord can go forward with the eviction cases.
Rudd v. Sharff: NYLJ, 12/22/10, p. 28, col. 2 (App. T. 1 Dept.; McKeon, PJ, Schoenfeld, Hunter, JJ)
