Tenant Can Be Evicted for Chronic Nonpayment of Rent

Landlord of low-income residential cooperative housing building sued to evict month-to-month tenant for chronic nonpayment of rent, as well as failure to accept a renewal lease offer at a higher rent. Landlord and tenant signed a settlement agreement in court that gave landlord a judgment of possession and permitted eviction if the pattern of late payment continued. The agreement also put tenant on probation for one year, during which she was required to pay monthly rent by the tenth day of the month. Tenant later asked the court to delay the eviction when she defaulted.

The court ruled against tenant in light of her prolonged and repeated failure to comply with the settlement agreement. Tenant claimed that she had taken a second job to supplement her income and that her adult son, an apartment occupant, also had recently gotten a job. But tenant's ongoing pattern of failure to pay rent on time had continued throughout the two-year period since landlord started the eviction proceeding. The court had granted tenant two prior stays of eviction. Landlord also showed that between 1996 and 2011 it had started at least 12 nonpayment proceedings against tenant. 

10-12 West 107th Street HDFC v. Vilma: 41 Misc.3d 1235(A), 2013 NY Slip Op 51984(U) (Civ. Ct. NY; 12/3/13; Kraus, J)