Nonpayment Petition Dismissed Due to Failure to Prove Claimed Unregulated Rent

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that the rent amount sought was unlawful and that the apartment had been improperly deregulated. Landlord in turn asked to amend its petition to state that the unit was vacancy-deregulated. The court ruled for tenant. Landlord produced a "free market" lease from 2018 at a monthly rent of $3,900. But landlord didn't send tenant a notice disclosing what the last rent-stabilized rent was, and offered no proof of how the rent increased from the last registered rent of $1,610 to $3,900. Since landlord offered no proof that the rent claimed was the legal rent, the case was dismissed. 

Yaaron LLC v. Swanson: Index No. L&T 313178/23, 2025 NY Slip Op 32025(U)(Civ. Ct. NY; 5/15/25, Guthrie, J)