Tenants Not Covered After Moving

Landlord sued to evict tenants, who ran a child care center from their apartment. Tenants had lived upstairs in a rent-stabilized apartment but moved to a new apartment in 1994. The lease for the new apartment stated that the unit was to be used as a child care center only. Under the lease, tenants paid monthly rent plus a percentage of increases in landlord's real estate taxes. Tenants claimed that they lived in the child care center and were still rent stabilized. The court ruled against tenants. Their lease was a commercial lease, building staff saw them leave every day after work, they owned a house, and the DHCR had already ruled that the apartment wasn't rent stabilized in an order denying tenants' complaint of a reduction in services.

Benroal Realty Assocs., LP v. Lowe: NYLJ, 2/26/03, p. 26, col. 3 (Dist. Ct. Nassau; Asarch, J)