2023 New York Laws › RPP - Real Property › Article 6-A - Good Cause Eviction Law › 216 - Grounds for Removal of Tenants.

* § 216. Grounds for removal of tenants. 1. No landlord shall remove a
tenant  from  any  housing  accommodation covered by section two hundred
fourteen of this article, or attempt  such  removal  or  exclusion  from
possession, notwithstanding that the tenant has no written lease or that
the lease or other rental agreement has expired or otherwise terminated,
except  upon  order  of  a court of competent jurisdiction entered in an
appropriate judicial action or proceeding in  which  the  petitioner  or
plaintiff has established one of the following grounds as good cause for
removal or eviction:
(a)  (i)  The  tenant  has  failed to pay rent due and owing, provided
however that the rent due and owing, or any part thereof, did not result
from a rent increase which is unreasonable. In determining  whether  all
or  part of the rent due and owing is the result of an unreasonable rent
increase, it shall be a rebuttable  presumption  that  the  rent  for  a
dwelling  not  protected by rent regulation is unreasonable if said rent
has been increased in any calendar year, after  the  effective  date  of
this  article,  or  after  the  effective  date  of the local law in any
village, town, or city that enacts such local law to apply this  article
to  such  village,  town, or city pursuant to subdivision one of section
two hundred thirteen of this article, by  an  amount  greater  than  the
local rent standard, provided further that no rent increase less than or
equal to the local rent standard shall be deemed unreasonable.
(ii)   Whenever   a   court  considers  whether  a  rent  increase  is
unreasonable, the court may consider all relevant facts,  including  but
not  limited  to  a  landlord's  costs  for  fuel  and  other utilities,
insurance, and maintenance; but in all cases, the court  shall  consider
the  landlord's  property tax expenses and any recent increases thereto;
such relevant facts also shall include whether the landlord, other  than
in circumstances governed by paragraph (d) of this subdivision, seeks in
good  faith  to raise the rent upon a renewal lease to reflect completed
significant repairs to the housing accommodation, or to any  other  part
of  the  building or real property in which the housing accommodation is
located, provided that the  landlord  can  establish  that  the  repairs
constituted  significant  repairs  and  that such repairs did not result
from the landlord's failure to properly maintain the building or housing
accommodation, and provided  further  that  for  the  purposes  of  this
subparagraph,   "significantly   repair"   means   the   replacement  or
substantial modification of any  structural,  electrical,  plumbing,  or
mechanical  system that requires a permit from a governmental agency, or
abatement of hazardous materials, including lead-based paint,  mold,  or
asbestos  in  accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws,
and provided further cosmetic improvements  alone,  including  painting,
decorating, and minor repairs, do not qualify as significant repairs;
(b)  The tenant is violating a substantial obligation of their tenancy
or breaching any of the landlord's rules and regulations governing  said
premises,  other  than  the  obligation to surrender possession, and has
failed to cure such violation after written notice  that  the  violation
cease  within  ten  days  of  receipt  of  such written notice, provided
however, that the obligation of tenancy for which violation  is  claimed
was  not  imposed  for  the  purpose of circumventing the intent of this
article and provided such rules or regulations are reasonable  and  have
been  accepted  in  writing by the tenant or made a part of the lease at
the beginning of the lease term;
(c) The tenant is committing or permitting a nuisance in such  housing
accommodation,  or  elsewhere in the building or on the real property in
which the housing accommodation is located,  or  is  maliciously  or  by
reason   of   gross   negligence   substantially  damaging  the  housing
accommodation, or causing substantial damage elsewhere in  the  building

or  on  the real property in which the housing accommodation is located;
or the tenant's conduct is such as to interfere  with  the  comfort  and
safety  of  the  landlord  or  other tenants or occupants of the same or
another adjacent building or structure;
(d)  Occupancy  of  the  housing  accommodation  by  the  tenant is in
violation of or causes a violation of law and the landlord is subject to
civil or criminal penalties therefor; provided however that an agency of
the state or  municipality  having  jurisdiction  has  issued  an  order
requiring  the  tenant  to  vacate  the housing accommodation. No tenant
shall be removed from possession of  a  housing  accommodation  on  such
ground  unless  the  court  finds  that the cure of the violation of law
requires the removal of the tenant and that the landlord did not through
neglect or deliberate action or failure  to  act  create  the  condition
necessitating the vacate order. In instances where the landlord does not
undertake  to  cure conditions of the housing accommodation causing such
violation of the law, the tenant shall have the right to pay  or  secure
payment  in  a  manner satisfactory to the court, to cure such violation
provided that any tenant expenditures shall be applied against  rent  to
which  the  landlord is entitled. In instances where removal of a tenant
is absolutely essential to such tenant's health and safety, the  removal
of  the  tenant  shall be without prejudice to any leasehold interest or
other right of occupancy the tenant may have and  the  tenant  shall  be
entitled  to  resume possession at such time as the dangerous conditions
have been removed. Nothing herein shall abrogate or otherwise limit  the
right  of  a  tenant to bring an action for monetary damages against the
landlord or to otherwise compel compliance  by  the  landlord  with  all
applicable state or municipal housing codes;
(e)  The  tenant  is using or permitting the housing accommodation, or
elsewhere in the building or on the real property in which  the  housing
accommodation is located, to be used for an illegal purpose;
(f)  The  tenant  has  unreasonably refused the landlord access to the
housing accommodation for the purpose of  making  necessary  repairs  or
improvements  required  by law or for the purpose of showing the housing
accommodation to a prospective  purchaser,  mortgagee  or  other  person
having a legitimate interest therein;
(g)  The  landlord  seeks  in  good  faith  to recover possession of a
housing accommodation for the landlord's own personal use and  occupancy
as the landlord's principal residence, or the personal use and occupancy
as  principal  residence  of  the  landlord's  spouse, domestic partner,
child, stepchild, parent, step-parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild,
parent-in-law  or  sibling-in-law,  when  no  other   suitable   housing
accommodation  in  such building is available, provided that no judgment
in favor of the landlord may  be  granted  pursuant  to  this  paragraph
unless  the  landlord  establishes good faith to recover possession of a
housing accommodation for the landlord's own personal use and  occupancy
as the landlord's principal residence, or the personal use and occupancy
as  a  principal  residence  of the landlord's spouse, domestic partner,
child, stepchild, parent, step-parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild,
parent-in-law or sibling-in-law, by clear and convincing evidence.  This
paragraph  shall  not  apply  to  a  housing accommodation occupied by a
tenant who is sixty-five years of age or older  or  who  is  a  disabled
person;
(h)  The  landlord  in  good  faith  seeks  to  demolish  the  housing
accommodation, provided that no judgment in favor of the landlord may be
granted pursuant to this paragraph unless the landlord establishes  good
faith  to  demolish  the  housing  accommodation by clear and convincing
evidence;
(i)  The  landlord  seeks  in  good  faith  to  withdraw   a   housing
accommodation  from the housing rental market, provided that no judgment
in favor of the landlord may  be  granted  pursuant  to  this  paragraph
unless  the  landlord  establishes  good  faith  to withdraw the housing
accommodation  from  the  housing  rental market by clear and convincing
evidence; or
(j) The tenant fails to agree to reasonable  changes  to  a  lease  at
renewal,  including  increases  in  rent  that  are  not unreasonable as
defined in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, as long as written  notice
of  the changes to the lease were provided to the tenant at least thirty
days, but no more than ninety days,  prior  to  the  expiration  of  the
current lease.
2. A tenant required to surrender a housing accommodation by virtue of
the  operation  of paragraph (g), (h), or (i) of subdivision one of this
section shall  have  a  cause  of  action  in  any  court  of  competent
jurisdiction  for  damages, declaratory, and injunctive relief against a
landlord or purchaser of the premises who makes a  fraudulent  statement
regarding  a  proposed  use,  removal from the rental housing market, or
demolition of the housing accommodation. In  any  action  or  proceeding
brought  pursuant  to  this  subdivision  a  prevailing  tenant shall be
entitled to recovery of actual damages, and reasonable attorneys'  fees.
Except  as  provided  in this subdivision, nothing in this article shall
create a civil claim or cause of action by a tenant against a landlord.
3. Nothing in this section shall abrogate or limit the tenant's  right
pursuant to section seven hundred fifty-one of the real property actions
and  proceedings  law to permanently stay the issuance or execution of a
warrant or eviction in a summary proceeding, whether characterized as  a
nonpayment,   objectionable   tenancy,   or   holdover  proceeding,  the
underlying basis of which is the nonpayment of  rent,  so  long  as  the
tenant  complies  with  the  procedural  requirements  of  section seven
hundred fifty-one of the real property actions and proceedings law where
applicable.
* NB Repealed June 15, 2034