Tenant's Rent Payment Applied to Oldest Outstanding Rent Due

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent based on arrears totalling $3,850 for the period between November 2022 and January 2023. Landlord later asked to amend the petition to include additional rent arrears to bring the claim up to date. Landlord argued that any rent paid should be applied first to the oldest outstanding amount due. The court agreed. Tenant's rent payments weren't earmarked although tenant disputed how payments made should be applied. The court noted that the prevailing view was that where there was no agreement to the contrary, it was more appropriate for tenants' payments to be applied to the oldest outstanding rent. This was also standard practice and was needed to avoid unjust results.

Sea Park East LP v. Beltran: Index No. LT-309872-23, NYLJ No. 1705995512 (Civ. Ct. Kings; 1/12/24; Grant, J)