to maintain the premises in habitable condition" (Park W. Mgt. Corp. v Mitchell,
47 NY2d at 329; see Kiss v
Castellanos, 43 Misc 3d 1227[A], 2014 WL 2198634 [NYC Civ Ct 2014]).
Applying these legal principles to the matter at bar, Tenant has sufficiently
established an entitlement to a rent abatement for all the deplorable conditions which
existed in her apartment for over one year. Preliminarily, the parties stipulated on the
record that Tenant owes over two months of rent at $2,700 between November 2012
through May 2014. She properly raised the habitability defense in her Answer.
Addressing that claim for an abatement, Tenant credibly testified as to multiple ongoing
conditions in her apartment for over six months, and her oral notifications of these
conditions to the Landlord or its agent, which are the essential elements of a rent
abatement claim (see 1097
Holding LLC v Ballesteros, 17 Misc 3d 1111[A], 2007 NY Slip Op 51925[U]
[NYC Civ Ct 2007]). Tenant specifically testified and provided a list of HPD Violation
Notices of the defective front door, chronic rat and cockroach infestation, broken wood
floors and peeling paint throughout the apartment, cracked bathtub and bathroom ceiling
leaks, and the unusable kitchen due to the presence of rodents. Although there was no
testimony as to Tenant's housecleaning habits or how often she used the kitchen to cook
for her or her children's meals, her testimony and the 17 photographs submitted into
evidence show a dingy and chaotic apartment in need of cleanly painted walls, repair of
damaged floors and doors, and extermination for vermin. Indeed, there were Violation
Notices issued for those particular conditions on several occasions by the experts at
HPD.