Case Type
Non-payment
Housing Type
Rent Stabilized
Court
Civil Court of the City of New York
County
Bronx County (Bronx)
L&T / Index / Case / Docket / Clerk's Number
LT-350487-23/BX
Petitioner
901 Walton Ave Realty LLC
Respondent
Akila Laboy; Wilkely Vasquez
Judge
Rumprecht-Behrens, Agata
Decision/Order Date
2025-04-22
Posture
Pre-answer Motion by Tenant
Disposition
Case Dismissed/discontinued
Winner
Tenant Substantially Won
Synopsis
Tenant moved to dismiss a nonpayment proceeding arguing that the rent demand overstated the legal rent due, rendering it defective. The landlord sought rent based on a concession rider, asserting the legal regulated rent was $1,472.41 and charging $1,522.41 for some months, despite a pattern of charging $1,300 through biannual credits. The court found that the concession functioned as a preferential rent under recent case law and DHCR guidance. Since preferential rents must remain for the duration of the tenancy under HSTPA, the higher amounts sought were improper. The rent demand was thus not a good faith approximation of what was owed. Because a valid rent demand is a statutory prerequisite to maintain a nonpayment proceeding, the case was dismissed. Practice Note: Characterizing rent reductions as “concessions†does not shield them from preferential rent analysis under current law.
Recommended Citation
"901 Walton Ave Realty LLC v. Laboy" (2025). All Decisions. 1791.
https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/housing_court_all/1791
