Erin Lichy Speaks Out About $44,000 Unpaid Rent Lawsuit

Heavy/Getty Erin Lichy

“The Real Housewives of New York City” star Erin Lichy may have had an issue with her co-star Jessel Taank saying Tribeca was “up and coming,” but she might agree that one certain building in the neighborhood isn’t “there.”

Page Six reported on January 3 that Erin and her husband Abe Lichy are being sued for failure to pay rent on their former $13,500-a-month Tribeca apartment. The suit also includes other charges, amassing to a total disputed amount of $43,950. The Lichys claim that they had agreed with their landlord to withhold two months of rent payments given the unsanitary conditions in the apartment.

A representative for the Lichys shared a statement with Page Six, alongside photos of their old Tribeca apartment that showed evidence of rats, including droppings and woodchips from the cabinets on the floor, having been chewed through.

Now, in a January 4 Instagram story that has been reposted to a Bravo fan page on Reddit, Erin spoke out and shared her side of the story regarding the unpaid rent suit.

Erin Lichy Responds to Unpaid Rent Suit

According to Erin, “NYC has a serious issue with landlords neglecting their buildings and their basic responsibilities to provide adequate living for their tenants. […] We poured a lot of hard work and a significant amount of our personal money into what was supposed to be our long term home. The additional changes were to be made by the landlord and when conditions worsened, we hired a well-known tenant attorney that advised us to withhold rent until such issues were remedied and an appropriate abatement as agreed upon, which would also incur late fees. This is a common practice with legal rights as tenants in NYC.”

Erin went on to add that she and Abe had followed up with their landlord for months with “zero response” before eventually moving out of the two-floor Tribeca apartment. She said that six months had passed post-move out with no contact from their landlord until the lawsuit was filed in the first week of 2024.

“This could have been settled amicably, if they would have responded to any of our outreach. As someone who works in real estate and has been a landlord, I am appalled at his behavior, yet, not surprised. There are thousands of New Yorkers who have had similar experiences and unfortunately have limited resources or knowledge to fight back and I hope that my current situation be a lesson to landlords to take better care of hard-working tenants that live in their buildings. This should not happen to anyone and I’m proud of me and my husband for taking a stand,” Erin added in her statement.

Fans React to Erin Lichy’s Statement

Fans on Reddit took to the comment section to weigh in on the Lichys lawsuit and Erin’s statement.

“I’ve lived in NYC for nearly a decade and I believe her. I don’t even like her but I’ve seen this all before with so many people, including some with incredible means,” one user wrote.

“I have a friend who spent a few years being a tenant attorney in New York and he had wild stories of the s*** landlords would try to get away with. I believe her,” another user added.

“Honestly do I love Erin? No. But she has a right to have reasonable living conditions for a place she is shelling out incredible amounts of money for. I can’t dog her out for being stuck in a crappy situation and hope that they get some closure soon,” a thrid fan added.

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