Tenant Built Deck on Patio

March 1, 1995

LVT Number: 9492

Landlord cooperative corporation sued tenant for breaching proprietary lease. Tenant had built a patio on the deck behind his apartment without first getting landlord's consent. Landlord asked the court to order tenant to remove the patio, restore the deck to its prior condition, and pay damages. The court ruled for landlord without a trial, and tenant appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlord. Tenant's contractor had written a letter to landlord requesting permission only to replace a door and to build a fence. The letter didn't indicate that decking would also be built.

Landlord cooperative corporation sued tenant for breaching proprietary lease. Tenant had built a patio on the deck behind his apartment without first getting landlord's consent. Landlord asked the court to order tenant to remove the patio, restore the deck to its prior condition, and pay damages. The court ruled for landlord without a trial, and tenant appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlord. Tenant's contractor had written a letter to landlord requesting permission only to replace a door and to build a fence. The letter didn't indicate that decking would also be built. And landlord and tenant later signed an alteration agreement, which didn't incorporate any part of the contractor's letter by reference or refer to any oral discussions. Also, the agreement didn't authorize construction of decking.

Rutherford Tenants Corp. v. Kaufman: NYLJ, p. 26, col. 3 (2/16/95) (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Murphy, PJ, Rosenberger, Nardelli, Williams, JJ)

Topics

More like this