(New York: Court of Appeals) The issue was as to the meaning of the New York City Rent and Eviction Regulations which provided that a landlord might not dispossess ‘either the surviving spouse of the deceased tenant or some other member of the deceased’s tenant’s family who has been living with the tenant.’
Held: (by a majority) ‘The intended protection against sudden eviction should not rest on fictitious legal distinctions or genetic history, but instead should find its foundation in the reality of family life. In the context of eviction, a more realistic, and certainly equally valid, view of a family includes two adult lifetime partners whose relationship is long term and characterised by an emotional and financial commitment and interdependence.’ A same-sex partner of the deceased tenant was, it was held, able to qualify if he could produce the necessary evidence.
Citations:
(1989) 544 NYS 2d 784
Jurisdiction:
United States
Cited by:
Cited – Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association Ltd HL 28-Oct-1999
Same Sex Paartner to Inherit as Family Member
The claimant had lived with the original tenant in a stable and long standing homosexual relationship at the deceased’s flat. After the tenant’s death he sought a statutory tenancy as a spouse of the deceased. The Act had been extended to include as . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Housing
Updated: 30 November 2022; Ref: scu.215912