It is now almost 30 years since Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) Section 753 was amended on July 29, 1982 to add a new subdivision 4. This subdivision provides that in a residential summary holdover proceeding in the city of New York:
based upon a claim that the tenant or lessee has breached a provision of the lease, the court shall grant a ten day stay of issuance of the warrant, during which time the respondent may correct such breach (emphasis supplied).
The language of the statute—stating that the court “shall” grant a 10-day stay—is mandatory on its face and does not give courts discretion with respect to the issuance of the stay. Indeed, in the Court of Appeals’ seminal 1984 decision Post v. 120 East End Ave. Corp.,1 the Court interpreted RPAPL 753(4) as “impress[ing] its terms on residential leases” and providing for a “mandatory stay of removal” (emphasis supplied) from possession and an “opportunity to cure,” by:
authorizing Civil Court at the conclusion of summary proceedings to impose a permanent injunction in favor of the tenant barring forfeiture of the lease for the violation in dispute if the tenant cures within 10 days. Under this interpretation the statute would necessarily protect against any other losses incident to forfeiture…2
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