Trump business and Saudi prince in court over unpaid rent

A Saudi prince has lost a legal dispute with the family of US President Donald Trump over unpaid rent in the iconic Trump Tower building. Faisal Bin Abdul Majeed Al-Saud failed in his efforts to get a New York judge to dismiss the lawsuit for the money he owed to the Trump family business having resided in the seven bedroom penthouse of the luxury hotel for several years.

Al-Saud is being sued for nearly $4 million, after the prince allegedly stopped paying rent at his Trump Park Avenue penthouse apartment in Manhattan. According to Arabian business, he leased a 7,132 square-foot penthouse in the tower block for several years, but he stopped paying his monthly rent of $115,762 around January 2017. The details were provided in the lawsuit filed in February.

The $4 million apparently owed by the prince includes unpaid rent and repairs. The property — with seven bedrooms and eight full bathrooms — is said to be currently on the market for $28.5 million. In 2013, it was offered at $40 million, but the listing was pulled.

At yesterday’s hearing, New York State Supreme Court Justice Melissa Ann Crane in Manhattan denied the prince’s motion to dismiss the case, citing the wording of the lease.

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The Trump family lawyers are seeking payment for rent owed until 2019. Al-Saud claimed that he had notified Trump Park Avenue in 2015 that he no longer had any use for the penthouse. He also argued that the Trump Company did not comply with the terms of the lease by failing to notify him of the fact that he was in default.

During the court hearing it was suggested that the landlords of Trump Tower may be able to find another tenant but their lawyers rejected the idea. “I don’t think that in today’s residential market you’re going to find a tenant willing to pay $100,000 a month for a residence,” said one of the Trump team. He added that his clients may be forced to rent it out for just “zero or $1.”

Faisal Al-Saud ‘s lawyer argued that the Trump organisation waived any right to additional rent after it accepted the keys and took the prince’s $200,000 security deposit on 27 December last year.