New York landlords left in the lurch by tenants who break their leases – don’t feel that you have to run out to post a For Rent sign.
Recently, the Second Department of the New York Appellate Division ruled that a landlord does not have to mitigate damages when a tenant moves out prior to the expiration of the lease. Here is an article that I recently published about the decision in City Limits: “Worth The Paper It’s Written On.“
In order to reach its decision, the court took an antiquated view of the landlord-tenant relationship that has been out of vogue since the 1970’s–viewing it as an estate in property rather than a contract. The distinction between the two, seemingly obscure, is that only under the law of contract are tenants entitled to equitable rights such as the warranty of habitability, unless otherwise provided by statute.
On a practical level, considering the rental climate in New York City, it seems counter-intuitive that a landlord can leave an apartment vacant, without making any effort to re-rent it, and then collect the remaining rent from the tenant. During oral argument the tenant’s attorney might have posed the question: “Anyone ever hear of craigslist?”
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