New York City Housing Authority v. Pretto, 8 Misc. 3d 708 (2005)

Citation: New York City Housing Authority v. Pretto, 8 Misc. 3d 708 (2005)
Parent Document: New York City Housing Authority v. Pretto, 8 Misc. 3d 708 (2005)
Jurisdiction: New York (state)
Effective Date: 2005-05-05
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/6306087/new-york-city-housing-authority... ↗

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As stated, there are no cases which deal directly on point with the issue of the statute of limitations to be applied in illegal use proceedings. One court has held that a tenant may not rely on the equitable doctrine of laches to preclude a landlord from maintaining a summary proceeding to evict for illegal use of the premises. In Hudsonview Co. v Jenkins (169 Misc 2d 389, 396 [1996]), the court held that laches is “conceptually inapplicable as a defense to an illegal use proceeding.” This court believes that the court’s analysis in Hudsonview is correct. The doctrine of laches should not apply to an illegal use proceeding, as the passage of time only benefits the tenant and is not necessarily prejudicial. The issue to be determined at trial in an illegal use proceeding is whether the tenant engaged in or acquiesced in the illegal use of the premises. If found to be true then the lease must be declared effectively terminated on the date such activity was discovered. Mere passage of time does not alter the result and tenants may not avail themselves with a claim of laches to defeat the petition.

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