Senior Citizens Get Some Relief Despite Court Setback
by Kenny Schaeffer

Rent-regulated tenants over the age of 62, earning under $20,000 per year and paying one-third of their income as rent will benefit from a new practice under the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) program.

Under prior practice SCRIE exemptions were being denied if they were not “recent,” i.e. if the mid-point of the current lease had been passed. According to Diane Lutwak of The Legal Aid Society’s Brooklyn Office for the Aging, SCRIE administrators have agreed this was improper, and will now freeze rents at the amount in effect before the most recent rent increase, whenever that occurred, if the tenant was eligible as of that date.

This victory offsets a legal defeat on a different issue: The state Court of Appeals on March 26 rejected a claim that the SCRIE statute requires that rents be frozen at the level in effect when the tenant first became eligible, rather than when they apply. Many senior citizens, unaware of the availability of SCRIE, apply long after their 62nd birthday, and will now be stuck with any rent increases (except the most recent) which occur prior to their application.

SCRIE applications can be obtained from the: Department for the Aging 2 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10007 (212) 442-1000.