A respondent tenant (tenant) is subject to the Rent Control Law. A landlord had commenced holdover proceeding against the tenant and against a co-respondent, seeking possession of the subject apartment on the grounds that the tenant “is a rent-controlled tenant who failed to maintain the (apartment) as her primary residence and that co-respondent’s occupancy was derivative of respondent’s tenancy.” The tenant asserted a defense of “excusable absence.” The court held a trial.

The parties had stipulated that between March 21, 2020, and July 13, 2022, the tenant had been at the apartment “in the afternoon thirty-two times and at the (apartment) overnight for an additional sixteen times.”