‘RHONY’ star Erin Lichy and husband sued for $44K in unpaid rent, claim they didn’t pay because of rat infestation
Erin Lichy and her husband, Abraham Lichy, are being sued for not paying rent on their former New York City pad, but the couple claim the landlord is just money hungry.
The complaint, filed Tuesday and obtained by Page Six, claims the “Real Housewives of New York City” star and the lawyer owe $43,950 after allegedly falling behind on their $13,500-a-month rental payments and “other charges,” such as late fees, from Oct. 1, 2021, to July 31, 2023.
The Lichys had rented both the fifth and sixth floors of the luxe Tribeca property, according to the court documents.
They are accused of either making payments late, avoiding late fees, bouncing checks or not paying at all.
The total sum the plaintiff is seeking also covers $12,900 in attorneys’ fees.
However, Erin, 36, and Abraham, 40, deny that they owe their former landlord any money, alleging that the parties had agreed to withhold payment on two months of rent in an abatement agreement due to the apartment’s unsanitary conditions.
Their rep tells Page Six exclusively, “In October of 2021, after the Lichys spent tens of thousands on renovations out of pocket, which was agreed to be factored into the rental price, they were notified of elevator repairs that were expected to take a few weeks and took months during the dead of winter, forcing the Lichys’ small children to navigate and live amongst dangerous conditions including rodents.”
Page Six obtained photos that show the allegedly poor living conditions, which included rat droppings, regurgitated food and chewed-through cabinetry.
The Lichys’ rep adds, “This resulted in a request for reasonable abatement due to all of the hazardous conditions that the landlord initially refused until the Lichys engaged a landlord/tenant attorney to which the landlord then agreed to an abatement.”
We’re told Erin and Abraham decided to finally move out of the unit by giving proper notice. However, the landlord allegedly “refused to honor their abatement post-move out” in a letter sent in August 2023, “adding on additional rent and fees.”
“The Lichys and counsel reached out several times to resolve issues and make payment of the correct balance to the landlord but failed to get any response to discuss,” their rep alleges.
“Given the dispute on the total amount owed, including the lack of agreed-upon abatement, the Lichys’ counsel advised to withhold the remaining balance owed, which is the tenants’ right.”
The rep concludes, “The Lichys know their rights and are not going to be taken advantage of.”
The reality stars also provided Page Six with a copy of a recommendation letter that a property manager at their old apartment wrote for them as evidence that they were good tenants.
The letter noted that Erin and Abraham kept the residence in “immaculate shape” and that there were “no complaints from their neighbors throughout their time living at the property.”
It also states that the Lichys gave their landlord “proper notice” before moving out and makes no mention of any outstanding financial issues.
However, the landlord’s attorney, Mark Altschul, tells Page Six that the letter proves nothing because it “does not say that the Lichys were fully paid.”
He also implies that the letter was written as an added effort to get the Bravolebrity and her family to move out of the property as soon as possible.
“It is not unusual for a landlord to be glad to have a tenant leave, and a letter such as the one the Lichys got is consistent with that procedure,” Altschul says.
“It does say that the premises was left in good condition and they did not make a nuisance of themselves in the building; those points are not at issue in the litigation — merely the nonpayment of rent.”
The lawyer also slams the Lichys’ defense that they allegedly dealt with maintenance issues.
“This is typical of nonpaying tenants, claiming unsuitable conditions as a defense,” Altschul says.
“There was no violations issued by the City of New York against the premises to substantiate any claim of unsuitable conditions by the Lichys.”
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He adds of the alleged abatement agreement, “[It] was conditioned by the Lichys on a two-year extension of the lease — which if the premises was so unsuitable, why did the Lichys insist on an additional two years to stay? Clearly, inconsistent positions by the Lichys.”
Erin and Abraham were recently thrust in the spotlight when she was cast on the revamped version of “RHONY,” which premiered in July 2023.
In one Season 14 episode, Erin got into a memorable squabble with co-star Jessel Tank over whether Tribeca was an “up-and-coming” New York City neighborhood or “already there.”
Erin highlighted at the time that Tribeca was an enclave for celebs like Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Bethenny Frankel, adding, “It’s, like, the most expensive zip code [in Manhattan].”
TMZ was first to report the news of the lawsuit.
