Tenant Lied About Living with Registered Sex Offender

Landlord sued to evict tenant for lying in her lease application. The lease said that if tenant made any misrepresentation or untruthful statement in her lease application, this would be treated as a breach of the lease. Tenant told landlord that she would be the only apartment occupant, and the lease also stated this. But tenant's fiancee moved into the apartment with her. The police later told landlord that the fiancee was a registered sex offender. Landlord immediately started the eviction case. Tenant argued that she was entitled to have a roommate under RPL Section 235-f. The court ruled for landlord. Although tenant could have a roommate, that wasn't the reason landlord terminated her tenancy. Tenant lied about who would be living in the apartment. Landlord said that it wouldn't have rented to tenant if she had told the truth about who was going to live in the apartment.

College Oak Equities Assoc. v. Wolferd: NYLJ, 7/6/05, p. 20, col. 1 (Dist. Ct. Suffolk; Hackeling, J)