Opinion
March 25, 1952.
Present — Peck, P.J., Glennon, Dore, Cohn and Callahan, JJ.;
We find no support in the record for the finding by the State Rent Administrator that the landlord intends to use the housing accommodations for business purposes. It appears that the landlord's original intention in acquiring the premises was to demolish the housing portion of the premises and use only the store floor for an extension of its business purposes. By the order appealed from the matter has been remitted to the State Rent Administrator, presumably for the issuance of certificates of eviction upon any proper terms. Such terms might properly include a requirement and condition that the housing accommodations are not to be used for any future purpose and are either to be razed or boarded up. Order affirmed, with $20 costs and disbursements to the petitioner-respondent.
The proof adduced before the State Rent Administrator establishes that the petitioner intended to convert this building to commercial purposes after evicting these fourteen tenants. Such intention contradicts the landlord's assertion that it applied for the certificates of eviction in good faith. The absence of such faith is fatal to the petitioner's application. The State Rent Administrator found as a fact that there was a reasonable basis to imply such intention on the part of the landlord. Moreover, the Administrator properly found that the operational loss of the premises was a condition of the landlord's own choosing and that the disrepair of some of the apartments was a condition that the landlord could easily remedy if it so desired.