Trial Required on Whether Landlord Used Building for Charitable Purposes

Facts: Landlord sued to evict three month-to-month tenants after sending 30-day termination notices. Tenants claimed they were rent stabilized. Landlord claimed the building was exempt from rent stabilization based on charitable use. Landlord said that tenants' initial occupancy was contingent upon affiliation with its church. Landlord questioned whether tenants actually had the religious affiliation they claimed earlier and asked the court's permission for pretrial questioning. Tenants, on the other hand, asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. Tenants claimed they were tenants living in landlord's for-profit hotel for more than six months and so were entitled to rent-stabilized leases. Landlord argued that it didn't matter if the hotel was run for profit; what mattered was that landlord was a nonprofit charitable institution. Court: A trial was needed to determine whether landlord was a nonprofit charitable institution exempt from rent stabilization. Documents submitted to the court weren't sufficient. Factual questions also remained as to whether tenants were affiliated with the church.

Holy Spirit Assn. for the Unification of World Christianity v. Kwak: NYLJ, 7/31/02, p. 19, col. 1 (Civ. Ct. NY; Alpert, J)