Tenant Still in Possession After Lease Expires Must Obey Terms of Original Lease

What Happened: A medical tenant decided to remain in possession and continue paying rent after its lease expired. A few months later, Hurricane Irene blew through town and inflicted major damage, forcing the tenant to move out. The tenant sued to recover its security deposit; the landlord countersued to recover the costs of rebuilding, noting that the tenant had parked its car inside the building before the storm, in violation of the lease, and that the car was forced through the wall by the rush of floodwater in the building.

Ruling: The New York court dismissed the tenant’s claim and awarded the landlord $3.7 million in damages.

Reasoning: The general rule is that when a tenant remains in possession after the lease expires, the continued tenancy is subject to the same terms as the original lease. One of the original terms in this case was the requirement that the tenant park vehicles only in “properly marked spaces” and not store vehicles on the premises. The tenant clearly violated this provision and in so doing caused the wall to collapse. This wasn’t speculation, the court emphasized. It was proven by the uncontradicted testimony of the landlord’s expert witness and facts observed during the inspection of the building immediately after the hurricane showing that the car directly caused the wall to collapse.

• Absolute Med. Servs., Inc. v. Garnerville Holding Co., Inc., 2024 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 3936, 2024 NY Slip Op 03871