Landlord's Retaliatory Action Resulted in Loss of Tenant's Section 8 Subsidy

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant’s lease rent was $850 per month and about half of that was paid directly to landlord by Cohoes Housing Authority under the Section 8 program. At some point, following some history between landlord and tenant over apartment conditions, tenant’s Section 8 subsidy was terminated. After trial, the court ruled against landlord, finding that landlord’s refusal to fix certain apartment conditions was done with the intent to deprive tenant of his Section 8 rent subsidy and to retaliate against tenant in violation of Real Property Law Section 223-b for filing a complaint about the apartment conditions. Landlord’s unlawful retaliatory conduct materially altered tenant’s obligation to pay rent, in essence increasing tenant’s rent from $435 to $850. So the court ruled for landlord in part, ordering tenant to pay $435 per month in back rent owed or face eviction.

Pena v. Lockenwitz: 36 N.Y.S.3d 574, 2016 NY Slip Op 26245 (City Ct. Albany; 8/1/16; Marcelle, J)