In a holdover proceeding filed with the New York County Civil Court, a landlord alleged that its tenants did not really live in their regulated unit, and that they failed to maintain the premises as their “primary residence.”
When the tenants challenged the factual sufficiency of the underlying predicate notice which was issued in the case, the judge assigned to the matter found in the tenants’ favor and dismissed the dispute.
On appeal, the Appellate Term, First Department, was of the view that the notice offered sufficient detail to support the nonprimary residence claim, allowing the tenants to prepare a defense. Since it satisfied the requirements of governing law, the AT1 reversed the lower court's decision, denied the tenants' cross motion to dismiss, and reinstated the holdover – with the dispute remanded to the Civil Court for further proceedings, including a potential hearing on the landlord's application for discovery.
What do you think they’ll discover now?
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DECISION