Tenant Not Entitled to Transfer to Other Mitchell-Lama Apartment

Facts: Tenant lived in Mitchell-Lama co-op apartment with her parents since childhood. In 1995, tenant asked landlord for her own apartment. Landlord put tenant on an internal waiting list. In 2001, landlord became aware that tenant didn't qualify for the internal waiting list and placed her on an external waiting list. In 2002, tenant transferred into her own apartment in the building. Soon after, HPD notified landlord that tenant wasn't entitled to be on any waiting list for another apartment. HPD directed landlord to correct this error by reclaiming the apartment. HPD issued a certificate of eviction. Tenant appealed HPD's decision. The court ruled for tenant, and HPD appealed. Court: HPD wins. Tenant didn't qualify for landlord's internal waiting list because she sought an apartment transfer for only herself, not for other tenants of her original apartment. And tenant wasn't entitled to be added to landlord's external waiting list, because that list was closed in 1992 and tenant didn't apply for a new apartment until 1995. It didn't matter whether tenant knew that landlord had violated HPD rules by granting her the transfer or that tenant herself did nothing wrong.

Verdell v. HPD: NYLJ, 4/3/06, p. 25, col. 4 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Saxe, JP, Marlow, Williams, Catterson, Malone, JJ)