Tenant Gets Stay of Eviction in Bankruptcy Court
LVT Number: #25314
Landlord public housing authority sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. The housing court ruled for landlord. After judgment was entered but before she was evicted, tenant filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief. Tenant then asked the Bankruptcy Court to delay her eviction. She claimed that the Bankruptcy Code section permitting landlords to proceed with eviction when a bankruptcy petition is filed after judgment didn't apply in her case. She also asked the court not to make her deposit the rent arrears owed as a condition for the delay.
The court ruled for tenant. A debtor like tenant, who is a public housing tenant, isn't required to pay the rent owed before she filed the bankruptcy petition in order to get a stay of eviction. As long as tenant pays the monthly rent that becomes due after the date she filed her bankruptcy petition, she is protected by an automatic stay under the Bankruptcy Code.
In re: Aikens: 58 Bankr.Ct.Dec 277, 2014 WL 294463 (SDNY; 1/28/14; Gerber, J)