Tenant Needn't Restore Apartment to Original Condition

Landlord sued tenant, who was moving out of an apartment, to enforce a lease clause requiring tenant to restore the apartment to its original condition by removing designer improvements made by a prior tenant. Landlord claimed that tenant should find a new tenant who was willing to restore the apartment if tenant wasn't going to do it himself. The trial court ruled that landlord didn't try to enforce the lease clause within the time limit set forth in the lease and that landlord improperly tried to modify the lease clause by demanding that tenant find a new tenant to restore the apartment. Landlord's petition was dismissed, and landlord appealed. The appeals court affirmed the lower court's decision. Tenant had notified landlord of his intent to vacate as required by the lease, and landlord didn't ask tenant to restore the apartment to its original condition within 30 days as required by the lease rider.

Solow Management Corp. v. Hochman: NYLJ, p. 26, col. 2 (3/15/93) (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Sullivan, JP, Milonas, Asch, Rubin, JJ)