Non-Payment Dismissed Where Landlord Refused Tendered Rent

New York Housing Court Judge Sabrina B. Kraus recently dismissed a landlords non-payment proceeding on the grounds that the landlord had repeatedly refused rent which the tenant tried to pay. The defense is known as “tender and refusal.” Windermere vs. Mulla, NYLJ, 8/7/13. The tenant had been subject to repeated court proceedings by the landlord which had been either settled or discontinued. In one case the landlord failed to file any opposition papers and in the non-payment proceeding the landlord failed to refute the tenants claim that it had refused rent. Landlords often try to wear down tenants with repeated meritless proceedings.