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. In the meantime, landlord would be collecting and warehousing all the apartments in the building until he was ready to execute the renovation plan. The court ruled against landlord and dismissed the case. Landlord didn’t describe “recovery for personal use and occupancy” within the meaning of Rent Stabilization Code Section 2524.4(a), because there was no intent to “utilize” tenants' apartments within a reasonable time.
Rudd v. Sharff: NYLJ, 3/31/10, p. 26, col. 1 (Civ. Ct. NY; Lebovits, J)
