Landlord Mistakenly Failed to Collect Lease Renewal Increase

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant had signed a two-year renewal lease commencing Jan. 1, 2010, at a monthly rent of $671. But landlord continued to bill tenant at $611 per month by mistake. When landlord discovered its error in November 2011, it started billing tenant the higher rent and billed tenant retroactively for the $60 difference previously uncollected. Tenant refused to pay.

After trial, the court ruled against landlord. Landlord was entitled to the higher rent under the agreed-upon renewal lease and there was no proof that landlord had waived its right to collect the increase. But landlord also had mistakenly registered tenant's rent at the lower amount during the relevant period. Landlord's inability to present a valid registration for the $671 rent prevented landlord from establishing its prima facie case in housing court. Landlord must amend the registration before it can sue tenant for nonpayment of the higher rent. And, under amended Rent Stabilization Code Section 2528.3(c), landlord can't amend its registration without applying to the DHCR for permission to do so. The case was dismissed without prejudice to refiling when the registration is amended.

156 East 37th Street LLC v. Negron: 43 Misc.3d 1221(A), 2014 NY Slip Op 50739(U) (Civ. Ct. NY; 5/8/14; Kraus, J)