Landlord Illegally Locked Tenant's Wife Out of Apartment

LVT Number: #27960

Rent-stabilized tenant's wife sued landlord, claiming that she was illegally locked out of tenant's apartment. The court ruled for the wife and ordered landlord to restore her to possession. Landlord appealed and lost. The wife had at least "constructive possession" of the apartment at the time of the lockout, and hadn't abandoned any possessory interest she may have had in the apartment after tenant formally agreed to surrender the apartment to landlord in exchange for monetary compensation.

Rent-stabilized tenant's wife sued landlord, claiming that she was illegally locked out of tenant's apartment. The court ruled for the wife and ordered landlord to restore her to possession. Landlord appealed and lost. The wife had at least "constructive possession" of the apartment at the time of the lockout, and hadn't abandoned any possessory interest she may have had in the apartment after tenant formally agreed to surrender the apartment to landlord in exchange for monetary compensation. The wife had advised landlord before the lockout that she was claiming a right to remain in the apartment. Landlord had in fact made a buyout offer to the wife shortly before she left on a trip and was then locked out.

Wei v. 259 East Broadway Associates, LLC: 2017 NY Slip Op 51277(U), 2017 WL 4320736 (App. T. 1 Dept.; 9/28/17; Shulman, JP, Ling-Cohan, Gonzalez, JJ)