In the instant case, careful consideration of the competing interests leads us to conclude that the defense should not be allowed. Uppermost in our consideration is the fact that this is a two-family home and that landlord lives in the other apartment. We do not think the public interest would be well served by keeping together in one house this landlord and the tenant who is suing him for $2 million. There are understandable references in the briefs to the “crisis” atmosphere in the house. Doubtless, it was similar considerations which prompted the Legislature’s decision to exempt owner-occupied dwellings containing four units or less from the reach of the statutory defense. Moreover, the object of Kaplan’s personal injuries action against landlord was to recover damages, not primarily to remedy the conditions in his apartment. In the circumstances of this case at least, we do not believe that his commencement of the personal injuries action constitutes an adequate predicate for allowing the retaliatory-eviction defense. DiPaola, P. J., Collins and Ingrassia, JJ., concur.