Landlord Can Evict Tenant for Removing Bathroom Walls

Landlord sued to evict tenant for violating her lease by demolishing and replacing the bathroom walls in her apartment. The trial court ruled for landlord, finding that tenant caused lasting damage to the apartment. But the court gave tenant 10 days to cure the condition and later granted tenant an extension to cure. Landlord appealed, claiming that tenant's alterations couldn't be meaningfully cured and that the eviction should go forward. The appeals court ruled for landlord. Tenant then appealed, and lost. Tenant didn't conduct any asbestos testing before removing walls, failed to insure that the new drywall she installed had a proper fire rating, and didn't obtain necessary permits or approval from DOB or the Landmarks Preservation Commission before doing the work. This exposed other tenants to dangers from asbestos and fire, and exposed landlord to numerous building violations. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Section 753(4), which calls for a 10-day stay of an eviction warrant to permit a post-trial cure, was intended to cover temporary lease breaches that could be cured within 10 days. Tenant's breach was uncorrectable, and she wasn't entitled to any stay.

259 West 12th LLC v. Grossberg: 2011 NY Slip Op 08459, 2011 WL 5838993 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 11/22/11; Andrias, JP, Friedman, Renwick, DeGrasse, Abdus-Salaam, JJ)