Tenant Hadn't Paid Rent During Four Years Before She Filed Overcharge Claim

Landlord sued to evict unregulated, month-to-month tenant. Tenant claimed that she was rent stabilized and that she had been overcharged. Landlord argued that the apartment had been vacancy deregulated before tenant moved in. The court ruled for tenant. Landlord appealed and won, in part. While the lower court correctly found that the apartment remained rent stabilized at the time tenant moved in, the overcharge claim should have been dismissed. CPLR 213-a provides that an action on a residential rent overcharge must be started within four years of the first overcharge claimed. This means that the action must be brought within four years of the first month for which damages are sought to be recovered. In this case, tenant had last paid rent in August 2007. The overcharge complaint wasn’t raised until Aug. 30, 2011, and tenant’s August 2007 rent was due on Aug. 1, 2007.  So tenant’s rent overcharge claim was untimely and was dismissed. 

Esposito v. Larig: 2016 NY Slip Op 26236, 2016 WL 4019726 (App. T. 2 Dept.; 7/13/16; Weston, JP, ALiotta, Elliot, JJ)