City Law on MBR Increase Formula Upheld

Facts: The City of New York amended the rent control law to provide that the factor for determining maximum base rents would be based upon Article 12 of the Real Property Tax Law, instead of Article 12-A. The DHCR and the Rent Stabilization Association (RSA), an owners' organization, opposed the new law. The city sued for a declaration on the law's legality. The DHCR and the RSA claimed that the new law placed more stringent restrictions on rent-controlled housing than were already in effect. The court ruled that Local Law 73 of 1997 was lawful and directed the DHCR to issue MBR orders following the law for the 1996-97 cycle and later cycles. The DHCR appealed. Court: The DHCR loses. The city law was upheld. And the court also declared that the DHCR's existing interim MBR orders be deemed final orders and that when the DHCR has finished appealing the case, it will notify all affected landlords and tenants.

City of New York v. DHCR: NYLJ, 1/11/01, p. 27, col. 1 (App. Div.1 Dept.; Sullivan, PJ, Williams, Tom, Saxe, Friedman, JJ)