A person who lives in a single-room occupancy building for at least six months becomes a permanent tenant protected by rent stabilization, regardless of whether he has a lease or pays rent, a unanimous state appellate panel ruled yesterday, reversing a lower court.
The Appellate Division, First Department, ruled in Branic International Realty v. Pitt, 570284/10, that an SRO tenant does not need to have a landlord-tenant relationship with the SRO owner, aside from living in the SRO for at least six months, in order to be a "permanent tenant" under New York’s Rent Stabilization Law.
