The LeFrak group claims the courts failed in their duty to hear housing disputes effectively and fairly.
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A major New York City landlord is suing the city’s Office of Court Administration and Municipal Court, saying landlords are being unfairly burdened by the city’s ineffective housing courts.
The LeFrak Organization owns more than 60,000 apartments in New York City, including the sprawling LeFrak City complex in Queens. The group claimed in a court filing that delays have become the norm since the pandemic-era eviction moratorium expired, unfairly burdening landlords and courts failing in their duty to hear housing disputes efficiently and fairly.
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“Landlords are forced to accept that the game is rigged and plod through the nightmarish process of housing tribunals in the hope that one day, in the distant future, they will be able to recapture their properties and make them financially viable again. ,” LeFrak’s complaint reads as follows:
The lawsuit alleges that the court system has failed to find a way to handle the backlog of cases that have piled up since the eviction moratorium expired in January 2022. The judge added to the delays by delaying the case to allow the tenants to seek attorneys. Guaranteed to be free of charge under New York’s Right to Counsel Law. Such actions often delay cases for an additional four months, the complaint said.
LeFrak claimed that once an eviction decision is in effect, landlords can wait “for months on end” for an eviction order to be officially issued, arguing that this undermines property rights and deprives owners of “an easy, quick and inexpensive way to regain possession.” their property.
LeFrak’s attorneys asked Queens County Supreme Court to rule that a trial date should be set within three to eight days, with extensions allowed only if the landlord or tenant expressly requests it, and for an immediate eviction order.
The complaint was first filed by New York Law Journal.
OCA did not respond to a request for comment.
