Super's Wife Who Isn't a Tenant Can't Claim Protection from Eviction as Domestic Violence Victim

Landlord sued to evict the building super's wife from a basement apartment after sending her a 10-day notice to quit as a licensee. Landlord had allowed the building super to live in the apartment as an incident to his employment, and the wife later moved in with him in 2012. She claimed that, after years of physical, emotional, and psychological abuse, she started a family court case in April 2019. This resulted in the issuance of a number of orders of protection, initially excluding the super from the apartment. The exclusion was removed in later court orders that permitted the super to enter and to see the couple's daughter. The wife claimed that she was a domestic violence victim and therefore protected from eviction under Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Section 744 and Real Property Law (RPL) Section 227-d(1). But the laws cited by the wife were written to protect tenants. There was no provision in RPL Section 227-d(a) that protected someone other than a tenant, and the super's wife couldn't establish that she was a tenant. The court gave the wife permission to submit an amended answer to the eviction petition. 

85 EP LLC v. Cano: Index No. L&T 78963/19, 2020 NY Slip Op 20066 (Civ. Ct. Kings; 3/2/20; Harris, J)