Tenant Overcharged Subtenant

Facts: Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for overcharging his subtenant, in violation of the Rent Stabilization Code. Landlord submitted a sworn statement from the subtenant that he paid tenant $3,500 per month to sublet the apartment, while tenant's legal monthly rent was $1,000. Landlord asked the court to decide the case without a trial. Tenant claimed that landlord's notices were defective, that any violation had been cured, and that he wasn't profiteering. Court: Landlord wins. Although landlord had originally sent tenant a notice to cure an illegal sublet, landlord didn't follow through with an eviction case for that reason. Instead, landlord later sent tenant a termination notice based on tenant's rent gouging. No cure notice was required in that case. Although subtenant had moved out, tenant still collected $14,000 in rent overcharges from subtenant. Tenant couldn't claim that he wasn't profiteering. Tenant's acts violated the Rent Stabilization Code bar against charging subtenants more than the legal regulated rent. So landlord could evict tenant.

Golden Properties, Inc. v. Knox: NYLJ, p. 29, col. 1 (5/13/98) (Civ. Ct. NY; Strauss, J)