element of his affirmative defense (an action taken to enforce a habitability issue) with respect to the presence of excessive dog hair in the common area.
The next issue that Brown raised involved the presence of mice in his apartment. A mouse infestation in an apartment, if not caused by the tenant's poor upkeep of the premises, constitutes a breach of the warranty of habitability (Roman v Emigrant Sav. Bank-Brooklyn/Queens, 111 AD3d 692, 693 [2d Dept 2013]). On the other hand, a mouse scurrying here and there on an occasion or two is nothing out of the ordinary.
Brown's testimony described a serious matter and not an inconvenience. Brown testified that at some point in time he{**62 Misc 3d at 283} noticed that the pest control service that had maintained the apartment building stopped coming. He testified that he never became aware of a successor exterminator. As a result, the tenant claimed that mice invaded his apartment on a frequent and intolerable basis. Brown further stated he deployed mouse traps and each time he would catch a mouse, he registered a complaint with MLR and sent a picture of the deceased rodent. MLR denied the allegation that Brown ever provided it emails, photographs or any other kind of notification about mice in his apartment.