Landlord Can Collect Retroactive Increases

Facts: The DHCR granted landlord's application for MCI rent increases. Tenants appealed, claiming that the MCI rent increases shouldn't be added to their base rents. They claimed the increases should be temporary, lasting only until the MCIs were paid for. Tenants also objected to the amounts of the rent increases. Although prospective rent increases were limited to 6 percent per year, landlord was allowed to add on retroactive rent increases. The court ruled for tenants, finding that landlord couldn't start collecting any retroactive rent increases, and wasn't permitted to add the MCI increases to tenant's base rents. Landlord appealed. Court: Landlord wins. The state's highest court had already ruled that landlords can add MCI rent increases as a permanent part of tenants' base rents. And there is no violation of the rent-stabilization law in allowing landlord to collect temporary retroactive increases of 6 percent and collecting the permanent increases at the same time. It takes the DHCR up to three years to decide MCI applications. It's unfair to landlords to delay collection of increases that are made effective the first rent payment date 30 days after landlord files its application. The increase is, therefore, allocated for a prior year and collected later.

Bryant Avenue Tenants' Association v. Koch: NYLJ, p. 21, col. 6 (9/30/93) (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Murphy, PJ, Sullivan, Wallach, Asch, Rubin, JJ)