Tenant Must Pay Rent Despite Water Damage

March 1, 2008

Facts: The owner of a commercial building served a tenant a three-day notice demanding back rent. The tenant did not respond to the notice, and the owner sued for payment. The tenant claimed that it had been forced to move and stopped paying rent because an alleged water leak, which the tenant claimed the owner refused to fix, had caused water damage in the space and made it unsafe.

Decision: A New York trial court ruled in favor of the owner.

Facts: The owner of a commercial building served a tenant a three-day notice demanding back rent. The tenant did not respond to the notice, and the owner sued for payment. The tenant claimed that it had been forced to move and stopped paying rent because an alleged water leak, which the tenant claimed the owner refused to fix, had caused water damage in the space and made it unsafe.

Decision: A New York trial court ruled in favor of the owner.

Reasoning: The court reviewed the evidence submitted and found no obligation on the part of the owner to fix the leak. The court also determined that the tenant's true motivation for claiming to be forced to move was to get relief for a failing business.

  • Jane Goldman, et al. v. MJJ Music, November 2007

Editor's Note: An owner's failure to make certain repairs can amount to a constructive eviction—that is, forcing the tenant to leave by creating an unsafe or nonfunctional environment and refusing to correct the problem. To win a constructive eviction claim, the tenant must prove that the owner's failure to make repairs significantly deprived it of use of the leased space.

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