Landlords may get some relief from chronically late-paying tenants thanks to a court ruling that appears to make it tougher for tenants to exploit the city’s Housing Court to avoid eviction.
The decision by the state’s Appellate Division sends a message to Housing Court judges that they must enforce agreements signed by tenants detailing how rent is to be paid, and end the practice of using court continuances to stall getting evicted.
“The Appellate Division sent a strong signal,” said Mitch Posilkin, counsel to the Rent Stabilization Association.
The case was brought by Chelsea 19 Associates, owners of an apartment building on West 19th Street, who for years tried to oust tenant Warren James.
Allowed to stay in his more than $3,000-a-month apartment after the building became a co-op, James and Chelsea 19 repeatedly sparred in Housing Court over his late rent checks.
James could not be reached for comment, and has since moved out of that apartment.
In October 2006, according to court records, James signed a “repayment schedule, and kept up with his rent until that December, when he missed a payment and ended up back in court.
For seven months, James fended off an eviction by obtaining orders to show cause from the Housing Court until his sixth appearance in July 2007, when James brought a bank check for $40,000 to bring him current on his rent, said Chelsea 19’s lawyer, Bradley Silverbush.
Tired of the court battles, Chelsea 19 turned down the check, plus a judge’s offer for James to cover some of its legal fees, and appealed.
In October 2008, the Appellate Term unanimously ruled in the owner’s favor. James appealed to the the Appellate Division, which unanimously supported the Appellate Term decision.
