Tenant's Absence from Apartment Was Excusable

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonprimary residence. The court ruled against landlord after a trial. Although tenant was away from the apartment for more than 183 days per year during the relevant period, his absence was temporary and excusable because he was providing end-of-life care for his elderly mother in upstate New York and remained there to deal with some family issues. Landlord appealed and lost, then appealed to a higher appeals court. The appeals court ruled against landlord and noted that tenant returned to the apartment periodically, didn’t remove his personal belongings, never sublet the apartment, paid New York City self-employment taxes, and listed the apartment as his address on federal, state, and city tax returns as well as other documents filed with public agencies.

Second 82nd Corp. v. Veiders: Index No. 2893, NYLJ No. 1202778235977 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 1/26/17; Friedman, JP, RIchter, Saxe, Moskowitz, Kapnick, JJ)