Petitioners filed a Notice of Petition and Petition on September 4, 2025, pursuant to Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, (RPAPL) Article 7-D. RPAPL Article 7D codified as §§ 797-797-j, known as the "Tenant Dignity and Safe Housing Act," provides a simplified summary proceeding for tenants outside of New York City to bring actions against landlords for habitability issues and state and local housing code violations.

Petitioners Laverne Houtman and Veronica Thomas have been tenants of a single-family [*2]home at Syracuse, since September 2024. Petitioners commenced this 7D proceeding against their landlord, Ned Urbiztondo, on September 4, 2025, and subsequently served Respondent with the petition through his attorney, Anthony Galli, an affidavit of service filed with Syracuse City Court on October 2, 2025.

Respondent Urbiztondo is owner of the subject property and began renting the property to Petitioners in September 2024 for $2,150 per month. Respondent filed a non-payment proceeding on September 12, 2025, seeking $6,450 in rent for July, August, and September 2025. Petitioners testified they began withholding rent in July for habitability issues that were not being addressed.

Petitioners brought this special proceeding alleging habitability issues and seeking corrective action and repairs including but not limited to: holes in the ceiling and walls, electrical outlets not covered; exposed wires, entry stairs in disrepair, refrigerator and freezer not working, and heat exchange/air conditioning not working. There were open Division of Code Enforcement violations based on these issues, as well as a lack of a Rental Registry Certificate for the property. In addition to the corrective order regarding necessary repairs, Petitioners requested an abatement of rent during such corrective action, an award of the difference between rent paid for the reduced value of the rental property, and relief on the pending non-payment proceeding.

The Court held a hearing on November 5, 2025, and found that Respondent is a properly named party to the action and Petitioners had proven their prima facie case regarding the underlying conditions. The Court issued an Order to Correct, stayed the pending non-payment proceedings, and reserved on abatement of the current rent and/or monetary award based on actual rental value of the property. The matter was scheduled for a Compliance and Habitability hearing which was rescheduled to December 16, 2025.

Real Property Law § 235-b implies a residential warranty of habitability, in that tenants shall not be subjected to any conditions, which would be dangerous, hazardous or detrimental to their life, health or safety. Landlords have a legal obligation to provide tenants with a safe and habitable living space, ensuring the property is structurally sound, has functioning plumbing and electricity, and is free from health hazards. This obligation is a fundamental part of New York State Landlord Tenant Law and applies even if it is not explicitly written in a lease.

The proper measure of damages for a breach of warranty of habitability is the difference between the rent and the value of the premises during the period of the breach, Avignone v Valigorski, 70 Misc 3d 905 [NY City Ct 2020].

Petitioners testified to having sewage water in the garage since move-in, which flooded the adjacent laundry room and was not repaired until July 2025, when plumbers snaked out the drain. Petitioners also testified they were without a working stove for the first three months of their tenancy as well as a nonfunctional refrigerator for over a year, which failed to keep food cold until finally replaced in December 2025. Petitioners also testified regarding the deteriorating condition of the entryway stairs, which were not repaired until September 9, 2025, and only after filing of the 7D action. Petitioners stated that the heating and A/C system stopped working in August 2025, and although it was later repaired, there has yet to be a replacement filter installed on the furnace as was recommended and the bedrooms are still not heated properly.

Petitioners also provided evidence that there are holes in the walls and dining room ceiling which have been there from the time they moved in. They testified that their request to fix the holes and paint was denied by the landlord, and the holes have yet to be fixed. They also testified that only three of the outlet covers were replaced while others remain exposed.

At the hearing, Officer Johnathan Gwin of the Division of Code Enforcement for the City of Syracuse was called to testify and stated that he had been out to the subject property four times. The initial complaint inspection occurred on July 15, 2025. At that time, Officer Gwin documented sewer issues in addition to vine overgrowth that was potentially causing rainwater to leak through the ceilings. When the property was reinspected on September 29, 2025, the officer noted that the deteriorated stairs had been fixed and were up to code. Officer Gwinn testified that when he reinspected the property on December 4, 2025, the refrigerator was not cooling below 64 degrees. On that date, he tested the heating system and found it to be working, finding the temperature in all the rooms at 78 degrees. He did note that there were still outlet covers that needed to be replaced but had since received email documentation of compliance with that issue.

When asked about the status of the Rental Registry for the property, Officer Gwin testified that a conditional temporary Rental Registry had been issued and expires on December 31, 2025; his supervisor had provided "Ned" a temporary Rental Registry, that he believed was issued because the tenants were not paying their rent, which was brought to the supervisor's attention. Officer Gwin was unable to identify upon what specific conditions the temporary conditional Rental Registry was based.

Respondent affirmed that he has been leasing the property for over 10 years although Respondent had failed to even apply for a Rental Registry Certificate prior to this 7D proceeding. The Property Conservation Code of the City of Syracuse Section 27-131, which has been in effect since 2011, requires Rental Registry Certificates on one- or two-family non-owner-occupied dwellings leased within the City of Syracuse. It is unlawful to rent such dwelling without a Rental Registry Certificate.

Real Property Law (RPL) § 223—b entitled "Retaliation by landlord against tenant" states in relevant part that a landlord shall not commence a proceeding to recover real property in retaliation for actions taken in good faith by a tenant to enforce rights under the lease or law of the State of New York regulating residential premises. A rebuttable presumption that the landlord is acting in retaliation shall be created if the tenant establishes that the landlord instituted an action or proceeding to recover possession, within one year after a good faith complaint was made, or good faith action was taken.

Petitioners began withholding rent in July 2025, and were served with a non-payment petition in September, seeking $6,450 for three months back rent. Because this is not a holdover proceeding, and arguably should the tenants pay the back rent (or any portion this Court determines is owed by Petitioners), they are entitled to remain in the premises; so even though Respondent affirms that he decided not to renew Petitioners' lease due to their raising numerous issues regarding the property, there cannot be a finding of retaliation at this time.

Review of the testimony of both parties, Respondent's witness, and affirmation and affidavit submitted by Respondent, together with the photo evidence provided, clearly indicate habitability concerns existed when Petitioners rented the property and continued when the 7D action was filed. There was no Rental Registry on the property until the temporary certificate issued on September 8, 2025, became an actual three-year certificate after the Court appearance on December 16, 2025.

Respondent argued that there were no repairs made regarding the habitability issues because Petitioners did not allow access to the property to make such repairs. Respondent provided undated and partial text conversations between the current property manager, Jessica Soble Cleaner, and Petitioners. In these messages, Ms. Cleaner tells them they are not home or do not answer the door for scheduled repairs, and Petitioners respond that this is untrue, and they are always home, and/or asking to be notified in advance. Although the texts appear to be "cherry-picked" conversations between the two parties, it is evident that there were conversations and a willingness by Petitioners to provide access to the property for repairs. Petitioners had been working with the prior property manager, Mr. Wendt, and had provided access to the property in July 2025, to address the sewage issue and in August 2025, to address the heating and A/C issue. Further, the stairs are located outside and do not need Petitioners to provide access, yet they remained in a dangerous state for over a year. Respondent's claim that repairs were not made due to Petitioners' unwillingness to grant access is without merit.

Petitioners testified they had been complaining about the stairs since they moved in. Petitioner Houtman testified she has bad knees, and the stairs have been inaccessible for the duration of her occupancy. Petitioners testified they complained about the sewage backing up in the garage and downstairs laundry room, but the issue wasn't addressed until a year later and only after they contacted the Division of Code Enforcement in July 2025. Petitioners also testified that they were forced to directly contact and repair the heating and A/C system in August 2025. The refrigerator was not replaced until December 4, 2025.

Petitioners have been withholding rent since July 2025. In the Order to Correct issued November 7, 2025, this Court reserved on the abatement of the current rent. Petitioners have six months of arrears through December 2025. Pursuant to section 27-147 of the Property Conservation Code of the City of Syracuse, now that Respondent has a valid Rental Registry Certificate on the property, he may receive the equitable value for occupancy of the premises.

However, this Court finds that Respondent took no corrective measures to cure the habitability issues, and issues were only addressed once Petitioners contacted the Division of Code Enforcement and were cited with violations including the lack of a Rental Registry Certificate. Respondent's testimony and affidavit did not justify the delay in correcting the habitability issues but instead showed that proper repair and remediation were completed for what this Court deems a meager sum (less than two months rental income). This Court finds that Petitioners were forced to live with unfortunate and unsatisfactory conditions which were severe and persisted throughout Petitioner's occupancy due to Respondent's inaction, and a reduction in the rental value is proper, see Newkirk v Scala, 90 AD3d 1257, 1258 [3d Dept 2011].

It is therefore the finding of this Court that Respondent breached the warranty of habitability as set forth in Real Property Law § 235-b, and a reduction of the rent by $1000 per month for duration of Plaintiff's occupancy through December 31, 2025, is warranted.

UPON consideration of the evidence and testimony presented, it is the judgment of this Court pursuant to RPAPL Law § 797-j, that it is hereby

ORDERED, that the equitable value of the occupancy from September 2024, through December 31, 2025, to be $1,150 per month; and it is further

ORDERED, the non-payment action LT-1992-25, is dismissed, and it is further

ORDERED, that Petitioners are credited $950.