Tenant Who Never Moved In Can't Claim Breach of Warranty of Habitability

Cooperative shareholder tenant sued landlord. He claimed that when he bought the apartment in 1999, landlord knew and had approved his plan to convert the apartment’s lower level art studio into bedrooms but that landlord later took actions to thwart the plan by improperly refusing to allow him to install a new air conditioning unit in the building’s common area “moat” and by improperly amending the building’s Certificate of Occupancy to list the lower level of the apartment as a basement instead of a cellar.

The court dismissed tenant’s claim as untimely. Tenant knew about landlord’s position by 2006 but didn’t bring his lawsuit until 2012. Tenant claimed that there was a “continuing wrong” but failed to assert that specific subsequent acts by landlord kept him from suing in a timely manner. Tenant had all the information he needed to bring the action before the limitations expired. Tenant also claimed breach of the warranty of habitability. He said that the apartment was uninhabitable but that he can’t create additional inhabitable space as planned. This claim isn’t covered by Real Property Law Section 235-b concerning warranty of habitability. And tenant never made any bona fide attempt to live in the building. 

Seigel v. The Dakota, Inc.: 2016 NY Slip Op 07850, 2016 WL 6839280 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 11/22/16; Mazzarelli, JP, Sweeny, Andrias, Webber, Gesmer, JJ)