Judge Scott Fairgrieve
Landlord commenced a holdover action against tenant Pitts seeking to evict him for alleged criminal activity. The petition alleged Pitts was served with a notice of termination of lease on Jan. 9, 2013, terminating same on Jan. 31, 2013, for Pitts’ material noncompliance of the lease’s terms. Tenant moved for dismissal or lack of subject matter jurisdiction arguing owner failed to give one month’s notice of termination of the tenancy under Real Property law §232-b, or 30-day notice as required by the lease. The court questioned what the applicable notice requirement was to a Section 8 tenant where termination was based on material noncompliance. It noted a review of the parties’ agreement revealed no time requirement for service of the termination notice. The court found owner served notice giving tenant approximately 22 days notice, stating a prior written notice of termination was an essential element of a summary proceeding involving federally subsidized housing. It concluded the 22-day notice given to tenant satisfied the due process requirements, protecting his rights, noting HUD regulations did not mandate a 30-day notice as HUD permitted a landlord to evict a tenant on a more expedited basis when material noncompliance was involved. Hence, dismissal was denied.
