Courtney Love Fires Back at Litigious Landlord: 'I Haven't Fallen Behind on the Rent'

Courtney Love has fired back at the landlord of her luxury West Village townhouse rental, insisting that the breach-of-contract accusations are overblown -- perhaps to draw attention to the real estate.

Donna Lyon, who reportedly paid $8 million for the townhouse, initiated eviction proceedings against Love this week, claiming that the Hole frontwoman was two months behind on the $27,000 monthly rent and had made unauthorized alterations to the luxury property -- which Lyon is currently trying to sell.

Lyon told the New York Post Thursday that Love had altered the décor of the townhouse against the terms of their agreement.

It was decorated by the previous owner, interior designer Steven Gambrel. One of the requirements of the lease is that nothing should be done to the interiors, Lyon told the Post.

Courtney has wallpapered and painted a large portion of the property without my consent. I learned about this when I wanted to sell the house and had photographs taken. They sent me the brochure and I said, 'This can't be my property.' I came to New York to see it and I was horrified by what she had done. The walls that had been hand-painted and glazed were ruined, covered in damask wallpaper and ice-blue paint.

Love told the Post that she is current on her rent, and that Lyon's claims about the redecorating were blown way out of proportion.

I haven't fallen behind on the rent - I have been paying month to month as agreed, she reportedly said. My rent is current, but the owner is now asking for the remaining two months' upfront. Even though it's not required, I'd happily pay that and another six months' rent upfront if she would extend the lease for six months. I have repainted, but I asked permission, and used a painter approved by the owner.

It is unclear how much, if any, damage to the townhouse is the result of a June incident that left Courtney with scorched hands -- a curtain in the master bedroom caught fire after coming into contact with a burning candle. Lyon told the Post that when Love's accountant called Lyon to tell her about the accident and assure her that her tenant was fine, she thought, What about the house?

Love admitted to the Post that a small fire did indeed happen in June, but the FDNY put it out in short order.

Love's lawyer, Eric D. Sherman, insisted that the delinquent rent claim has no merit, and criticized Lyon's handling of the matter.

I am unaware of any suit concerning alterations to the townhouse. It's unfortunate that Miss Lyon and her attorney chose to attack my client unfairly in the press, and we will deal with that accordingly. What we won't do is respond in a similarly inappropriate manner.

Lyon's lawyer Norman Flint was rather vague about the late rent charges.

There are two disputes: One is the rent nonpayment issue, which will be heard in court on Dec. 21, he told the Post. The other is the issue with the redecoration. If Courtney Love doesn't restore the property to its original condition by the end of the lease on Feb. 14, we have the right to sue her for damages. We didn't give consent for them to do what they did to the house. It doesn't matter what painter they used.

On Thursday, Gothamist published a blog post in support of Love after the initial report of the eviction surfaced.

So, today word got out via Page Six that Love is getting evicted from her West Village townhouse after falling behind on rent and, according to owner Donna Lyon, damaging and altering the property. You can read about it all over the internet, but that's all we have to say about it. Instead, let's focus on not hating Courtney Love for a while?

The blog post went on to list a number of reasons Love should be given a break, concluding with the following [backhanded] defense:

Can we just let the woman paint her West Village walls 'ice blue' or whatever paint color she wants without derision? (Just don't huff too much of it all at once, Courtney!)