Rooms in Lodging House Are Covered

Facts: Landlord operated a Bowery lodging house classified as a Class B multiple dwelling. The lodging house contained 234 cubicles, each occupied by one resident. The cubicles were 4 feet by 7 feet, and were separated by partitions that didn't reach the ceiling. Each cubicle had a door that locked from the inside. Most residents had installed padlocks on the outside of the doors and retained the only key. A bed and wooden closet was provided in each cubicle. Residents shared bathrooms and a social room. Residents were charged rent on a daily basis and paid every two weeks. Landlord sued to evict ten residents, who'd lived in the building between two and twelve years. Residents claimed that they were subject to rent stabilization. Landlord claimed that the cubicles weren't housing accommodations within the meaning of the law. Court: Landlord loses. Accommodations in Class B lodging houses were always covered under rent control. And, after the state's highest court ruled in 1981 that Class B multiple dwellings weren't subject to rent stabilization, the law was quickly amended to specifically include Class B dwelling units. The fact that the cubicles weren't totally enclosed rooms didn't prevent them from being considered housing accommodations. The law puts no such limit on the definition. Rooms or sizes of rooms aren't considered when determining rent regulation coverage.

Ghelardi v. Donnelly: NYLJ, p. 22, col. 5 (4/21/93); (Civ. Ct. N.Y.; Taylor, J)