Notice to Cure Time Limit Starts When Tenant Gets Notice

Facts: Landlord sent tenant a 10-day notice to cure a violation of the maximum occupancy provisions of her lease. Landlord then sent tenant a lease termination notice and started an eviction case. Tenant claimed that the notice was defective because she got only nine days to cure. Landlord's notice had counted the 10 days to cure from the date the cure notice was mailed, but tenant didn't get the notice until the day after it was mailed. The court ruled for tenant, and landlord appealed. Court: Landlord loses. The law governing notices to cure doesn't state when the 10-day time limit starts. So it's more reasonable to start the time limit when tenant gets the notice, not when landlord mails it. In this way, tenant will clearly have at least 10 days to cure.

ATM One, LLC v. Landaverde: NYLJ, 8/7/03, p. 27, col. 6 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Prudenti, PJ, Ritter, Feuerstein, Luciano, Adams, JJ)