Tenant Who Made Unauthorized Apartment Renovations Can Be Evicted

Landlord cooperative corporation sued to evict shareholder tenant for making unauthorized renovations to her apartment. The parties signed a settlement agreement in court by which tenant agreed to hire a licensed and insured plumber, electrician, architect, and/or structural engineer to ensure that the alterations complied with code requirements. Tenant had 30 days to provide landlord with information on the professionals hired as well as proof of insurance for those workers. Tenant failed to meet the deadline, and landlord went back to court three times seeking eviction. Tenant’s time was extended twice, but the third time the court ruled that landlord could execute the eviction warrant. Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant didn’t substantially comply with the settlement agreement, and the court properly exercised its discretion to permit eviction in light of tenant’s repeated defaults.

35 Jackson House Apartments Corp. v. Yaworski: 50 Misc.3d 128(A), 2015 NY Slip Op 51887(U) (App. T. 2 Dept.; 12/15/15; Pesce, PJ, Weston, Aliotta, JJ)