Skip to main content
DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Notre Dame Leasing, LLC v. Rosario, 2 N.Y. 459 (2004)

Citation
Notre Dame Leasing, LLC v. Rosario, 2 N.Y. 459 (2004)
Parent Document
Notre Dame Leasing, LLC v. Rosario, 2 N.Y. 459 (2004)
Jurisdiction
New York (state)
Effective Date
2004-05-11

Other Sections in This Document (40)

Full Text

917 chars
In addition, a statutory safeguard is in place to protect against abuses. Section 143-b (5) (c) requires that the Spiegel Law defense will only be available where the existing violations have been reported to the welfare officials by an appropriate agency, here the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Thus, only documented violations would qualify. This dispels the concern that the defense can be abused by tenants attempting to avoid paying rent (see majority op at 467). It is perhaps debatable whether hazardous conditions or conditions harmful to one’s life or health existing in the building—although not in the tenant’s own apartment—would have no effect on the tenant. However, as the majority observes in a footnote, the statute allows for the defense where violations exist in a building “regardless of the given apartment’s nexus with the violation” (majority op at 467 n 3).