Tenant Illegally Sublet Altered Apartment
LVT Number: 13158
(Decision submitted by Santo Golino of the Manhattan law firm of Kucker Kraus & Bruh, LLP, attorneys for the landlord.) Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for illegal subletting and overcharging subtenant. Tenant claimed that the subtenants were her roommates and that, in addition to rent, she could charge them for upkeep expenses. Tenant had moved into two adjacent apartments with an opening between them to allow access from one apartment to the other. She later reconfigured the apartments, separated them by sealing the opening, and rented one out. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant couldn't claim that the occupants of the now separate apartment were roommates. Tenant was clearly profiteering by overcharging subtenants. The court also ordered tenant to restore the two apartments to the original configuration.
12 E. 86th St. LLC v. Wesser: NYLJ, p. 27, col. 4 (3/10/99) (Civ. Ct. NY; Elsner, J)