Landlord Tenant Law

One of the key requirements of a lease, from a landlord's viewpoint, is that it ensures the landlord has the ability to access a tenant's space. When preparing a lease for a landlord, consider including the following items to make sure that the landlord is permitted access to all spaces on the premises at all appropriate times.

Tenants end up signing leases that offer little to no flexibility as their businesses expand and contract, setting the stage for economic and operational stress that could have been avoided with upfront planning and prudent lease negotiations.

Four years ago, we explored whether a commercial tenant could waive its common law right to seek a Yellowstone Injunction. At that time, there was no appellate authority directly on point. This all changed on Jan. 31, 2018, when the Appellate Division, Second Department ruled in 159 MP Corp., v Redbridge Bedford, LLC that the “commercial tenants' voluntary and limited waiver of declaratory judgment remedies in their written lease is valid and enforceable, and not violative of New York's public policy …”

No Tacking of Adverse Possession Claims
Issues of Fact Preclude Injunction Requiring Removal of Encroachments
Statute of Limitations Bars Foreclosure Claim
Permission Bars Prescriptive Easement Claim

While the court will not have the opportunity to rule on the merits of the case, the facts relied upon by the Indiana Superior Court and the conclusions reached in rendering its decision are still instructive for practitioners drafting continuous-use provisions and advising clients on potential breaches or anticipatory breaches of such provisions.

What powers does the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission have to require a building owner to maintain a mechanical clock located in the interior of a building? In Save America's Clocks, Inc. v. City of New York, New York's Appellate Division, First Department, held that the Commission had power to require maintenance of the clock, and to require public access to it.

Questions of Fact Bar Summary Judgment in Condominium's Claim for Improper Alterations
Sponsor Did Not Breach Purchase Contract
Unit Owners Did Not Have Exclusive Right to Elevator Shaft

Denial of Remaining Family Member Status Upheld
Occupant Entitled to Succession Rights to Stabilized Apartment Even If Named Tenant Continued to Sign Leases After Moving Out
Tenant Entitled to Succession Rights to Rent-Controlled Apartment
Landlord Did Not Establish Use of Apartment to Facilitate Drug Trading
421-G Buildings Subject to Luxury Deregulation
Incarcerated Son Note Entitled to Succession Rights