Plaintiffs Can't Claim Nonpurchaser Tenant Protections

Residential tenants sued landlords and sponsors of their buildings, which were converted to cooperatives or condominiums, claiming that they had the right to seek nonpurchaser tenant status based on their status as eligible senior citizens or disabled persons. The court granted the request of landlords and sponsors to dismiss the case.

Tenants appealed and lost. The conversion plans for the buildings in question were non-eviction plans. Special rights for eligible senior citizens and disabled persons are identified only in General Business Law Section 352-eeee(2)(d), which governs eviction plans. Emergency regulations issued by New York State in November 2015 also didn't help tenants, because those regulations applied only prospectively. The offering plans at issue were accepted for filing by the state before the original emergency regulations were issued, so they weren't considered part of the conversion plans. The tenants who sued also lacked standing since none of them ever lived in any of landlords' buildings or had any dealings with the landlords or sponsors regarding any co-op or condo conversion.

Kessler v. HFZ 90 Lexington Avenue Owners LLC: Index No. 8043-153085/16, 2019 NY Slip Op. 00075 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 1/8/19; Renwick, JP, Manzanet-Daniels, Tom, Mazzarelli, Webber, JJ)