Stahl Associates Co. v. Darland

OPINION OF THE COURT

Richard S. Lane, J.

The Omnibus Housing Act (L 1983, ch 403) contains an amended section 226-b of the Real Property Law which drastically curtails, indeed effectively abrogates, the right to assign a lease without the landlord’s consent. Retroactivity is unambiguously written into the new section 226-b. But how far does that retroactivity reach? Does it reach an assignment without consent but valid as a matter of law under the previous section 226-b and physically consummated prior to the June 30, 1983 effective date of chapter 403? That is the troublesome issue posed by…