Landlord Must Apply Tenant's Payments to Current Rent

Landlord sued to evict elderly tenant for nonpayment of rent. Landlord claimed that tenant owed five months’ rent for recent months. Tenant claimed that she had paid her rent at all times since November 2007. Landlord pointed out that tenant hadn’t paid her rent five times between December 2006 and October 2007. Landlord applied tenant's more recent payments to the oldest outstanding rent arrears, so more recent rent remained due and owing. Tenant claimed that this was improper and that landlord waited too long to sue for eviction based on the older back rent owed. The court ruled for tenant and dismissed the case. The fact that tenant paid her rent monthly, at the beginning of each month, since November 2007 implied tenant's intent to apply those payments to her current rent. Landlord was unfairly applying tenant’s payments to her old arrears instead of her current rent. Landlord’s unreasonable delay in suing for payment of the back rent put tenant at a significant disadvantage.

A&E Tiebout Realty LLC v. Johnson: NYLJ, 4/24/09, p. 27, col. 1 (Civ. Ct. Bronx; Madhavan, J)