For rent regulated apartments, a landlord or a member of the landlord's immediate family can sometimes obtain permission from the court to take back and occupy the apartment at the end of the lease. If the apartment is under Rent Control, the landlord must prove that he has an "immediate and compelling need" to take over the apartment.
For apartments under Rent Stabilization the landlord can obtain possession if he can show that he has a "good faith intention to occupy the apartment for personal or familial use", and once recovered he or someone of his immediate family must remain in occupancy for at least three years.
In either situation the landlord will lose if the court concludes that his motive is to take the premises back and immediately re-rent them in order to raise the rent.
However, tenants who are senior citizens, are disabled, or who have lived in the building for over 20 years receive special protection. In this situation the landlord must offer the tenant a similar or superior apartment for the same rent or lower rent in the same neighborhood.
