Decisions of Interest
Bratman v. La Rochelle 75 LLC. Index No. 110997/05
In this action we represented the Defendant/Landlord in an action commenced by the Plaintiff/Tenants on the grounds that the landlord had improperly filed an application for High Rent/ High Income Deregulation, (Rent Stabilization Code provides that an apartment becomes destabilized when the rent is in excess of $2,000.00 per month and the household income is more than $175,000.00 per year for two consecutive years) since the tenants alleged, there was an oral agreement with the prior owner which stated that when they moved from one apartment to two other apartments (which were combined by them for their use), that they would remain rent-stabilized for the balance of their tenancy and the landlord could not attempt to destabilize the apartment for any reason.
Defendant moved for summary judgment on the grounds that, even if the tenants were truthful in their statements of what had occurred (and this was denied), an agreement which waives the benefit of a statutory protection is unenforceable as a matter of public policy, even if it benefits the tenant and this agreement would waive the benefit of the Rent Stabilization Code § 2520.13. The motion was decided by the Honorable Marcy Friedman who granted the motion for summary judgment.