Appeals Court Upholds DHCR's Application of HSTPA to MCI Application Pending on June 14, 2019

Landlord applied to the DHCR for MCI rent hikes. The DHCR ruled for landlord in part but denied portions of landlord's application. Landlord then filed an Article 78 court appeal, and the court annulled the DHCR's ruling.

The DHCR appealed and won. The appeals court found that the lower court should've denied landlord's appeal. The DHCR had a rational basis to conclude that the HSTPA's Part K amendments to the Rent Stabilization Law should be applied when considering MCI applications that hadn't yet been decided when HSTPA took effect on June 14, 2019. Application of HSTPA Part K amendments affected only the landlord's prospective rent increases and had no potentially problematic retroactive effect. The appeals court found no reason to send the case back to the lower court, as landlord requested, since landlord hadn't preserved a claim that application of the Part K amendments might result in prejudice or undue hardship.

101 E. 16th St. Realty LLC v. DHCR: Index No. 150504123, App. No. 2075, Case No. 2023-03267 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 4/16/24; Kern, JP, Singh, Scarpulla, Mendez, Higgitt, JJ)