Tenant Moved in After Conversion

Landlord, a co-op sponsor, sued to evict rental tenant after tenant's lease expired. Tenant had moved into the apartment after the co-op conversion. Tenant claimed he was a ''nonpurchasing tenant'' entitled to a lease renewal under the Martin Act governing tenants' rights in co-op conversions. Landlord argued that the law was intended to protect only tenants who had occupied apartments before co-op conversions. The court ruled for tenant, finding that the law didn't distinguish between nonpurchasing tenants who lived in the building before conversion and those who moved in later and rented from the sponsor. Landlord appealed and won, in part. Tenant was a ''nonpurchasing tenant'' as defined under the law. However, landlord's lease renewal offer to tenant was proper. The rent in that lease was not ''unconscionable,'' as claimed by tenant. Landlord was entitled to offer tenant a renewal lease at the market rent. Landlord showed that comparable apartments in the building were renting for higher amounts.

Paikoff v. Harris: NYLJ, p. 28, col. 4 (10/19/99); repeated p. 32, col. 2 (10/20/99) (App. T.2 Dept.; Scholnick, PJ, Aronin, Patterson, JJ)