Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

410 Sharon Stapel
Housing Remedies for LGBT Relationships:
Although LGBT people may not be entitled to exclusionary orders of
protection through Family Court or Criminal Court, they may bring eviction
actions against their partners in Housing Court. The issue in these cases will
likely focus on who is the primary tenant. The Court of Appeals recognized that
same-sex partners may qualify as “family members” under rent control law,
which may create difficulties in evicting a same-sex partner. 45 On the other hand,
an abused same-sex partner may have protection from eviction. In New York
City, courts have held that a “co-habitant” who lives with but is not married to
the tenant and who claims to be a “spouse equivalent” cannot be evicted in a
summary proceeding as a licensee (a person who enters the premises with
permission of a person entitled to possession, called the licensor). 46
New York’s Roommate Law47 could be helpful in defending an eviction
against a landlord who may be working with an abuser to evict the battered
partner. The roommate law48 permits a tenant to have one unrelated roommate.
An LGBT survivor who is excluded from an apartment without possessions may
file an Action of Ejection (otherwise referred to as an Action to Recover
Possession of Real Property) to recover possession, damages, and costs from the
person possessing the property. A plaintiff may sue for damages for withholding
the property, including the rents and profits or the value of the use and
occupation of the property for a term not exceeding six years. 49
Conclusion
As LGBT communities and allies struggle to obtain legal recognition and
protections for themselves, their partners, and their children, these communities
are also confronting intimate partner violence. Anti-violence service providers
must be aware of, and educated about, issues specific to the LGBT
communities, and they must be willing to work in coalition with LGBT
organizations to address LGBT intimate partner violence.