Pandemic Laws Can't Prevent Landlord from Immediate Abatement of Unsafe Conditions

LVT Number: #31824

Landlord sued to evict ETPA tenant for nonpayment of rent, claiming tenant owed $6,800 in arrears. Tenant consented to admitting landlord to the apartment to make repairs while the case was pending. But tenant later claimed that work wasn't done and asked the court to direct landlord to abate uninhabitable conditions in the unit that violated the NY State uniform building code.

Landlord sued to evict ETPA tenant for nonpayment of rent, claiming tenant owed $6,800 in arrears. Tenant consented to admitting landlord to the apartment to make repairs while the case was pending. But tenant later claimed that work wasn't done and asked the court to direct landlord to abate uninhabitable conditions in the unit that violated the NY State uniform building code.

The court ruled for tenant. Landlord had notice of the unsafe and uninhabitable conditions for almost two years but failed to remedy them. Any stay provisions of the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act (CEEFPA) did not absolve landlord from fulfilling its legal obligations for maintaining safe and habitable conditions, and didn't prevent the court from enforcing landlord's obligations. The court ordered landlord to abate the conditions immediately.

Colonial Village LLC v. Green: Index No. 3174-19, NYLJ No. 1640029925 (Civ. Ct. Mt. Vernon; 12/7/21; Williams, J)