New Law May Apply to Limit Penalty

Facts: Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant claimed that landlord could only collect up to $270 per month, the 1984 registered rent, because in 1994 landlord didn't pay the $10 annual registration fee required under the rent stabilization law. Tenant claimed the rent should continue at this level until landlord paid the fee. Landlord claimed it was never billed for the 1984 fees, and that it had properly registered for all years and paid the fees for all other years. After passage of the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997 (RRRA), landlord also argued that any rent-related sanctions for nonpayment of the annual registration fee were now removed by law. Court: The RRRA clearly removes rent-related sanctions after June 19, 1997. But the retroactive effect of this RRRA provision was unclear. The court indicated that the Act probably applied in this regard retroactively, but scheduled a date for landlord and tenant to argue about the effect of not paying the fee prior to the enactment of the RRRA.

Djuko Realty, Inc. v. Roman: NYLJ, p. 23, col. 5 (8/20/97) (Civ. Ct. Kings; Finkelstein, J)