The item below, Group Sues State Over Rent-Increase Formula, appears in Today's News Briefs in the August 29th edition of the New York Law Journal:
An advocacy group for rent-controlled tenants is suing the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, alleging that its method of determining yearly rent increases violates the law. The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court by the Committee to Protect Rent Controlled Tenants, claims that DHCR uses an outdated formula to determine increases to the "maximum base rent" of rent-controlled tenants. It also claims that the formula does not properly account for the high rents landlords can collect on units no longer covered by rent stabilization, and charges that high rents increase the value of buildings, triggering large percentage increases on rent-controlled apartments.