NY landlord illegally rented out tenant’s $3,500-a-month apartment with his stuff inside: $60 million suit

A tenant is suing a awesome New York City landlord for $60 million, claiming they illegally evicted him and past re-rented his flat — pinch his worldly still wrong — contempt an ongoing ineligible battle.

Justin Collins claims he was forced retired of his $3,500-a-month one-bedroom flat astatine 1264 Lexington Ave. connected nan Upper East Side because of “uninhabitable” and vulnerable conditions, including a c monoxide leak erstwhile his beloved pooch was location unsocial for hours. 

He has been connected rent onslaught — and successful litigation — since 2023.

But earlier a judge could norm whether he owes rent, aliases if he’s owed a rent-stabilized lease, nan Moinian Group saw a chance to double-dip and rented nan portion retired while besides collecting complete $34,000 from his rental insurer, nan suit claims. 

That constitutes an forbidden eviction, his $60 cardinal suit claims.

“For me, this is astir them pursuing nan law,” said Collins, who useful successful consulting and grew up pinch a constabulary main arsenic a father. “That’s it. And to radiance a ray connected nan systemic abuse.”

Collins had moreover near immoderate of his belongings successful nan apartment, for illustration a machine show and a brace of window-unit aerial conditioners, which really look successful nan listing photos, he said.

The existent resident successful nan flat did not reply nan doorway erstwhile a Post newsman knocked Tuesday.

“Owners wrongfully circumvented New York City and New York State Law which requires a landlord to evict a tenant successful tribunal and successful doing so, grounded to travel due procedure,” according to nan lawsuit. 

The seven-story 24-unit building astatine 1264 Lexington Ave. has faced years of issues and litigation.

The building has received astir 400 lodging complaints and almost $150,000 successful fines and emergency repair bills complete nan past fewer years, records show.

One longtime tenant of 34 years said she was “shocked, but I’m not surprised.”

“It’s portion of a pattern,” said Carletta Downs, 66. “I’m shocked that they thought they could get distant pinch it, but I’m not amazed that they did it.”

Moinian touts itself arsenic “one of nan largest privately held existent property finance companies successful nan world pinch a portfolio successful excess of 20 cardinal quadrate feet,” according to their website.

Collins said his problems began correct erstwhile he moved successful April 2023, arsenic he tried to benignant retired why his flat had nary power, and why Con-Ed had nary grounds of his unit.

That’s because his portion — on pinch 2 others — were illegally created by splitting larger rent-stabilized apartments, pinch some serviced from nan aforesaid electrical panel, according to tribunal documents and metropolis records. Buildings officials said caller activity has “legalized” nan units, though they still deficiency a last certificate of occupancy.

The melange of hazards besides included surgery floors, achromatic mold and aggregate c monoxide leaks, Collins said.

Moinian dismissed his concerns, Collins claimed, truthful he went connected a rent onslaught that September and was sued months later for nonpayment. 

After his canine was location unsocial for hours during a c monoxide leak successful early 2024 — erstwhile firefighters yet collapsed down his doorway — he started sleeping astatine his partner’s apartment.

“I was successful changeless fearfulness because I didn’t cognize what I was going to travel location to, if my canine was going to beryllium safe,” he said.

When Collins left, Moinian claimed that he abandoned his lease.

Collins’s attorney, Leon Behar, said nan flat is really rent stabilized since it was cleaved from a stabilized portion — which grants tenants an automatic lease renewal.

Weeks aft Monian first revenge a nonpayment suit against Collins, nan spot elephantine collected a $34,000 declare from his renter’s security connected nan unadjudicated debt, a move nan suit calls “blatantly lying to nan security providers truthful that they could beryllium paid.” 

Moinian’s attorney, Matthew Zwiren, told The Post that they “look guardant to vigorously defending against these claims successful court.”

Corey Friedman, 28, lives connected Collins’ level and told The Post connected Tuesday that he hasn’t paid rent since March 2022 — and that he’s been trapped successful nan “death trap” elevator a twelve times. 

He thinks nan $60 cardinal number mightiness yet get Moinian’s attention.

“We support trying to fig out, what’s their endgame?” Friedman said. “Why wouldn’t they want to conscionable make judge that we tin unrecorded present safely, that we tin person an elevator that works, that we tin person a building that’s not falling apart?”