Multi-story apartment building real estateIt has been over two years since the Court of Appeals decided Regina Metro. Co. v. New York State Div. of Hous. & Community Renewal, 35 N.Y.3d 332 (2020), which was supposed to be the court's definitive case on rent overcharge. This was to be especially so as it related to the thousands of units in buildings which were deregulated while in receipt of J-51 benefits.

Unfortunately, as seminal a case as Regina may have been, there has been a sharp divergence of opinions in regard to its application as seen by recent decisions issued from both the Appellate Division and trial court levels.

By way of brief background, in Roberts v. Tishman Speyer Props., L.P., 13 N.Y.3d 270 (2009), the Court of Appeals held that luxury deregulation, which allowed landlords to raise rents from rent stabilized levels to market rates, was unavailable in buildings that had received tax benefits, pursuant to the J-51 Program.