No Reduction in Rent Abatement

Landlord sued to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent. Tenants claimed breach of warranty of habitability. The court ruled for tenants and gave them some rent abatement. But the court reduced the amount of the abatement by one-third for part of the abatement period because landlord offered tenants use of another apartment in the building while it made repairs. Tenants appealed and won. Landlord's act of offering tenants the use of the other apartment didn't mitigate tenants' damages for breach of warranty of habitability. And only one of the three tenants accepted landlord's offer. The proper measure of tenants' damages was the difference between the apartment's fair market rent and its value during the period that the warranty of habitability was breached.

LGS Realty Partners LLC v. Kyle: NYLJ, 9/3/10, p. 26, col. 1 (App. T. 1 Dept.; McKeon, PJ, Hunter, J)