Rent Stabilization Code §2524.4(a)(1) provides that an owner can refuse to renew a rent-stabilized tenant’s lease where the owner “seeks to recover possession of a housing accommodation for such owner’s personal use and occupancy as his or her primary residence in the city of New York and/or for the use and occupancy of a member of his or her immediate family.”

Owner-occupancy proceedings are difficult for tenants to defend. In a non-primary residence holdover, for example, the owner must affirmatively prove that the tenant does not primarily live in his or her apartment. In an owner-occupancy case, however, the owner must simply prove his or her good faith intent to actually move into the unit. The facts needed to prove good faith are necessarily within the owner’s knowledge, and do not require investigation or discovery. If the owner can tell his or her story in a credible manner, he or she is likely to prevail.