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The appeals court sided mostly with the tenants. It said tenants did not need to go through the Department of Buildings first, because they argued the agency broke the law completely, not just made an error. That type of challenge can go straight to court. The court also revived the tenants' request for an injunction and two other claims the landlord failed to properly argue against. Most habitability claims were dismissed because tenants already raised them in earlier housing court cases. But two tenants, who were never sued in housing court, could still pursue that claim. Finally, the court granted class certification, finding enough tenants with shared problems.
Tenants living in four buildings owned by Kushner Village sued their landlord. They claimed the landlord's temporary certificates of occupancy, called TCOs, were illegal because they had been renewed since 2015. Under New York law, a TCO can only last two years, including renewals. Tenants also claimed the buildings had habitability problems and asked the court to certify their case as a class action, covering 35 residential units and 5 commercial units. The lower court dismissed all their claims and denied class certification. The tenants appealed.
The appeals court had to decide several things. First, could tenants sue over the TCOs without first going through the Department of Buildings? Second, were the habitability and injunction claims properly dismissed? Third, did the tenants qualify to bring this case as a class action on behalf of all similarly affected tenants in the four buildings?
This ruling clarifies when tenants can go straight to court instead of a city agency first, especially when a law's clear limit is ignored. It also shows how habitability claims already argued in eviction cases usually can't be reargued elsewhere. The class certification decision may help larger groups of tenants pursue building-wide issues together.
Talk to a licensed landlord tenant lawyer in New York.