In two recent cases involving rent and rent overcharge claims, the Appellate Division, First Department dealt a sharp blow to owners of residential loft units. In Jo-Fra Props. Inc. v. Bobbe, NYLJ, Dec. 23, 2010, at 25, col. 1, the First Department held that the loft owner was barred under Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) §302(1)(b) from collecting rent from residential tenants in an Interim Multiple Dwelling (IMD) building that had not yet been legalized. In Nur Ashki Jerrahi Community v. New York City Loft Board, NYLJ, Dec. 2, 2010, at 29, col. 6, the court held that the four-year statute of limitations on rent overcharges under CPLR 213-a did not apply to an IMD covered by the Loft Law.
‘Jo-Fra’
Jo-Fra concerned five loft buildings located on West 28th Street in Manhattan. Residential tenants began moving into loft units in the buildings during the 1970s, and well into the 1990s. Although the Loft Law (MDL §§280-287) was enacted in 1982, the owner in Jo-Fra took no steps to legalize the building until 2004, when various tenants filed an application for coverage with the Loft Board.
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