New York Rent Laws
Rent Stab Code (1987) - Table of Contents

NYC Rent Stabilization Code (1987)

Please note: This version of the NYC Rent Stabilziation Code is from 1987 and is not current. The code has been amended several times since 1987. Although much remains the same, there are significant changes that have occurred. This version of the code is maintained for archival purposes.

PART 2524 -- EVICTIONS ----------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS Section 2524.1. Restrictions on removal of tenant. 2524.2. Termination notices. 2524.3. Proceedings for eviction--wrongful acts of tenant. 2524.4. Grounds for refusal to renew lease, or in hotels, discontinuing a hotel tenancy, without order of the DHCR. 2524.5. Grounds for refusal to renew lease or discontinue hotel tenancy and evict which require approval of the DHCR. ----------------------------- Sec. 2524.1. RESTRICTIONS ON REMOVAL OF TENANT. (a) As long as the tenant continues to pay the rent to which the owner is entitled, no tenant shall be denied a renewal lease or be removed from any housing accommodation by action to evict or to recover possession, by exclusion from possession, or otherwise, nor shall any person attempt such removal or exclusion from possession, except on one or more of the grounds specified in this Code. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to remove or attempt to remove any tenant from any housing accommodation or to refuse to renew the lease or rental agreement for the use of such housing accommodation, because such tenant has taken, or proposes to take any action authorized or required by the RSL or this Code, or any order of the DHCR. (c) No tenant of any housing accommodation shall be removed or evicted unless and until such removal or eviction has been authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction on a ground authorized in this Part or under the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law. Sec. 2524.2. TERMINATION NOTICES. (a) Except where the ground for removal or eviction of a tenant is nonpayment of rent, no tenant shall be removed or evicted from a housing accommodation by court process, and no action or proceeding shall be commenced for such purpose upon any of the grounds permitted in section 2524.3 or 2524.4 of this Part, unless and until the owner shall have given written notice to such tenant as hereinafter provided. (b) Every notice to a tenant to vacate or surrender possession of a housing accommodation shall state the ground under section 2524.3 or 2524.4 of this Part, upon which the owner relies for removal or eviction of the tenant, the facts necessary to establish the existence of such ground, and the date when the tenant is required to surrender possession. (c) Every such notice shall be served upon the tenant: (1) in the case of a notice based upon subdivision (f) of section 2524.3 of this Part, at least 15 days prior to the date specified therein for the surrender of possession; or (2) in the case of a notice on any other ground pursuant to section 2524.3, at least seven calendar days prior to the date specified therein for the surrender of possession, or in the case of a notice pursuant to subdivision (c) of section 2524.4 of this Part, at least 120 and not more than 150 days prior to the expiration of the lease term; or (3) in the case of a notice pursuant to subdivision (a) of sections 2524.4 and 2524.5 of this Part, at least 120 and not more than 150 days prior to the expiration of the lease term, or in the case of a hotel permanent tenant without a lease, at least 120 and not more than 150 days prior to the commencement of a court proceeding; or (4) in the case of a notice pursuant to subdivision (b) of section 2524.4 of this Part, at least 120 and not more than 150 days prior to the expiration of the lease term, or within 120 days of the expiration of the tenant's lease term provided no summary proceeding can be commenced until the expiration of 120 days from the service of such notice, accompanied by a form prescribed by the DHCR advising the tenant of the penalties set forth in section 2524.4(b) of this Part for failure to use the housing accommodation for the charitable or educational purposes for which recovery is sought. (d) All notices served pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section shall be in lieu of any notice in any lease or rental agreement providing for a lesser time for termination of tenancy. Sec. 2524.3. PROCEEDINGS FOR EVICTION--WRONGFUL ACTS OF TENANT. Without the approval of the DHCR, an action or proceeding to recover possession of any housing accommodation may only be commenced after service of the notice required by section 2524.2 of this Part, upon one or more of the following grounds, wherein wrongful acts of the tenant are established as follows: (a) The tenant is violating a substantial obligation of his or her tenancy other than the obligation to surrender possession of such housing accommodation, and has failed to cure such violation after written notice by the owner that the violations cease within 10 days; or the tenant has willfully violated such an obligation inflicting serious and substantial injury upon the owner within the three-month period immediately prior to the commencement of the proceeding. (b) The tenant is committing or permitting a nuisance in such housing accommodation or the building containing such housing accommodation; or is maliciously, or by reason of gross negligence, substantially damaging the housing accommodation; or the tenant engages in a course of conduct, the primary purpose of which is intended to harass the owner or other tenants or occupants of the same or an adjacent building or structure by interfering substantially with their comfort or safety. The exercise by a tenant of any rights pursuant to any law or regulation relating to occupancy of a housing accommodation, including the RSL or this Code, shall not be deemed a ground for eviction pursuant to this subdivision. (c) Occupancy of the housing accommodation by the tenant is illegal because of the requirements of law and the owner is subject to civil or criminal penalties therefor, or such occupancy is in violation of contracts with governmental agencies. (d) The tenant is using or permitting such housing accommodation to be used for immoral or illegal purpose. (e) The tenant has unreasonably refused the owner access to the housing accommodation for the purpose of making necessary repairs or improvements required by law or authorized by the DHCR, or for the purpose of inspection or showing the housing accommodation to a prospective purchaser, mortgagee or prospective mortgagee, or other person having a legitimate interest therein; provided, however, that in the latter event such refusal shall not be a ground for removal or eviction unless the tenant shall have been given at least five days' notice of the inspection or showing, to be arranged at the mutual convenience of the tenant and owner so as to enable the tenant to be present at the inspection or showing, and that such inspection or showing of the housing accommodation is not contrary to the provisions of the tenant's lease or rental agreement. (f) The tenant has refused, following notice pursuant to section 2523.5 of this Title, to renew an expiring lease in the manner prescribed in such notice at the legal regulated rent authorized under this Code and the RSL, and otherwise upon the same terms and conditions as the expiring lease. This subdivision does not apply to permanent hotel tenants, nor may a proceeding be commenced based on this ground prior to the expiration of the existing lease term. (g) For housing accommodations in hotels, the tenant has refused, after at least 20 days' written notice, to move to a substantially similar housing accommodation in the same building at the same legal regulated rent where there is a rehabilitation as set forth in section 2524.5(a)(3) of this Part, provided: (1) that the owner has an approved plan to reconstruct, renovate or improve said housing accommodation or the building in which it is located; (2) that the move is reasonably necessary to permit such reconstruction, renovation or improvement; (3) that the owner moves the tenant's belongings to the other housing accommodation at the owner's cost and expense; and (4) that the owner offers the tenant the right of reoccupancy of the reconstructed, renovated or improved housing accommodation at the same legal regulated rent unless such rent is otherwise provided for pursuant to section 2524.5(a)(3) of this Part. (h) In the event of a sublet, an owner may terminate the tenancy of the tenant if the tenant is found to have violated the provisions of section 2525.6 of this Title. Sec. 2524.4. GROUNDS FOR REFUSAL TO RENEW LEASE, OR IN HOTELS, DISCONTINUING A HOTEL TENANCY, WITHOUT ORDER OF THE DHCR. The owner shall not be required to offer a renewal lease to a tenant, or in hotels, to continue a hotel tenancy, and may commence an action or proceeding to recover possession in a court of competent jurisdiction, upon the expiration of the existing lease term, if any, after serving the tenant with a notice as required pursuant to section 2524.2 of this Part, only on one or more of the following grounds: (a) Occupancy by owner or member of owner's immediate family. (1) An owner who seeks to recover possession of a housing accommodation for such owner's personal use and occupancy as his or her primary residence in the City of New York and/or for the use and occupancy of a member of his or her immediate family as his or her primary residence in the City of New York, except that tenants in a noneviction conversion plan pursuant to section 352-eeee of the General Business Law may not be evicted on this ground on or after the date the conversion plan is declared effective. (2) The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply where a tenant or the spouse of a tenant lawfully occupying the housing accommodation is a senior citizen or disabled person, as previously defined herein, unless the owner offers to provide and, if requested, provides an equivalent or superior housing accommodation at the same or lower regulated rent in a closely proximate area. (3) The provisions of this subdivision shall only permit one of the individual owners of any building, whether such ownership is by joint tenancy, tenancy in common, or tenancy by the entirety to recover possession of one or more dwelling units for personal use and occupancy. (4) No action or proceeding to recover possession pursuant to this subdivision shall be commenced in a court of competent jurisdiction unless the owner shall have served the tenant with a termination notice in accordance with subdivisions (a), (b) and (c)(3) of section 2524.2 of this Part. (5) The failure of the owner to utilize the housing accommodation for the purpose intended after the tenant vacates, or to continue in occupancy for a period of three years, may result in a forfeiture of the right to any increases in the legal regulated rent in the building in which such housing accommodation is contained for a period of three years, unless the owner offers and the tenant accepts reoccupancy of such housing accommodation on the same terms and conditions as existed at the time the tenant vacated, or the owner establishes to the satisfaction of the DHCR that circumstances changed after the tenant vacated which prevented the owner from utilizing the housing accommodation for the purpose intended, and in such event, the housing accommodation may be rented at the appropriate guidelines without a vacancy allowance. This paragraph shall not eliminate or create any claim that the former tenant of the housing accommodation may or may not have against the owner. (b) Recovery by a not-for-profit institution. (1) The owner is a hospital, convent, monastery, asylum, public institution, college, school dormitory, or any institution operated exclusively for charitable or educational purposes on a nonprofit basis, and the owner, upon notice to the tenant in accordance with section 2524.2(c)(4) of this Part, requires the housing accommodation for its own use in connection with its charitable or educational purposes, and either: (i) the tenant's initial tenancy commenced after the owner acquired the property, and the owner requires the housing accommodation in connection with its charitable or educational purposes, including but not limited to housing for affiliated persons; provided that the owner may not refuse to renew the lease of a tenant whose right to occupancy commenced prior to July 1, 1978 pursuant to a written lease or written rental agreement, and who did not receive notice at the time of the execution of the lease that the tenancy was subject to nonrenewal; provided further that a tenant who was affiliated with the owning institution at the commencement of his or her tenancy and whose affiliation terminates during such tenancy shall not have the right to a renewal lease; or (ii) the owner requires the housing accommodation for a nonresidential use in connection with its charitable or educational purposes. (2) In addition to such penalty provided in section 2526.2 of this Title, the failure of the owner without good cause to utilize or to continue to use the housing accommodation for the purpose intended after the tenant vacates, and for four years thereafter, shall result in a forfeiture of the right to any increases in the legal regulated rent for the housing accommodation involved for a four-year period following the recovery of the housing accommodation from the tenant. (3) If an owner who recovers a housing accommodation pursuant to this subdivision, or any successor in interest, within four years after recovery of the housing accommodation from the tenant, utilizes such housing accommodation for purposes other than those permitted hereunder without good cause, then such owner or successor shall be liable to the removed tenant for three times the damages sustained on account of such removal, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, provided that such tenant commences an action to recover such damages within three years from the date of recovery of the housing accommodation. The damages sustained by such tenant shall be the difference between the rent paid by such tenant for the recovered housing accommodation, and the rental value of a comparable rent- regulated housing accommodation, plus the reasonable costs of the removal of the tenant's property. (c) Primary residence. The housing accommodation is not occupied by the tenant, not including subtenants or occupants, as his or her primary residence, as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction; provided, however, that no action or proceeding shall be commenced seeking to recover possession on the ground that the housing accommodation is not occupied by the tenant as his or her primary residence unless the owner or lessor shall have given 30 days' notice to the tenant of his or her intention to commence such action or proceeding on such grounds. Such notice may be combined with the notice required by section 2524.2(c)(2) of this Title. For the purposes of this subdivision, where a housing accommodation is rented to a not-for-profit hospital for residential use, affiliated subtenants authorized to use such accommodations by such hospital shall be deemed to be tenants for primary residence purposes. Sec. 2524.5. Grounds for refusal to renew lease or discontinue hotel tenancy and evict which require approval of the DHCR (a) The owner shall not be required to offer a renewal lease to a tenant or continue a hotel tenancy, and shall file on the prescribed form an application with the DHCR for authorization to commence an action or proceeding to recover possession in a court of competent jurisdiction after the expiration of the existing lease term, upon any one of the following grounds: (1) Withdrawal from the rental market. The owner has established to the satisfaction of the DHCR after a hearing, that he or she seeks in good faith to withdraw any or all housing accommodations from both the housing and nonhousing rental market without any intent to rent or sell all or any part of the land or structure and: (i) that he or she requires all or part of the housing accommodations or the land for his or her own use in connection with a business which he or she owns and operates; or (ii) that substantial violations which constitute fire hazards or conditions dangerous or detrimental to the life or health of the tenants have been filed against the structure containing the housing accommodations by governmental agencies having jurisdiction over such matters, and that the cost of removing such violations would substantially equal or exceed the assessed valuation of the structure. (2) Demolition. The owner has established to the satisfaction to the DHCR after a hearing that he or she seeks in good faith to recover possession of the housing accommodations for the purpose of demolishing them and constructing a new building, provided that either he or she has obtained approved plans for a new building or the DHCR has determined that plans have been submitted to the city agency having jurisdiction over the demolition and new construction. However, a hearing shall not be conducted until the owner has submitted to the DHCR proof of his or financial ability to complete the undertaking, together with copies of the plans that have been submitted to such city agency. No order shall be issued approving the owner's application until said plans have been approved by such city agency, and an order approving the owner's application shall not be granted unless the owner proves that all necessary funding for the proposed construction has been secured. (3) Other grounds. The owner will eliminate inadequate, unsafe or unsanitary conditions and demolish or rehabilitate the dwelling unit pursuant to the provisions of article VIII, VIII-A, XIV, XV or XVIII of the PHFL, the Housing New York Program Act, or sections 8 and 17 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 (National Housing Act), on the condition that the owner: (i) proves that it has a commitment for the required financing; (ii) proves that any rehabilitation requires the temporary removal of the tenant; and (iii) agrees to offer and will offer the tenants the right of first occupancy following any rehabilitation at an initial rent as determined pursuant to the applicable law and subject to any terms and conditions established pursuant to applicable law and regulations. (b) ELECTION NOT TO RENEW. Once an application is filed under this section, with notification to all affected tenants pursuant to section 2524.2 of this Part, the owner may refuse to renew the affected tenant's lease until a determination of the owner's application is made by the DHCR. In such event, the owner may not increase the rent charged in excess of the rent provided in the expiring lease. If such application is denied, or withdrawn, prospective renewal leases must be offered to all affected tenants within such time and at such guidelines rates as directed in the DHCR order of denial or withdrawal. (c) Terms and conditions upon which orders authorizing refusal to offer renewal leases may be based. The DHCR shall require an owner to pay all reasonable moving expenses and shall further condition the order upon the payment of a reasonable stipend and/or the relocation of the tenant by the owner to a suitable housing accommodation at the same or lower regulated rent in a closely proximate area. If no such housing accommodation is available at the same or lower regulated rent, the owner may be required to pay the difference in rent between the subject housing accommodation and the new housing accommodation to which the tenant is relocated for such period as the DHCR determines, commencing with the occupancy of the new housing accommodation by the tenant. (d) Any order granting an application pursuant to this section shall not provide for a stay of eviction which exceeds one year. In addition, where the order of the DHCR is conditioned upon the owner's compliance with specified terms and conditions, if such terms and conditions have not been complied with, the order may be modified or revoked.


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