The avalanche of lawsuits alleging rent overcharges by developers utilizing tax breaks shows no signs of slowing down.
Tenants filed a class-action lawsuit against Two Trees Management for alleged illegal rent hikes at 300 Ashland Place in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, Gothamist reported. The plaintiffs are being represented by Newman Ferrara and the lawsuit was filed with cooperation from Aaron Carr’s Housing Rights Initiative, two names that are frequently found in conjunction with the recent rise in cases.
Similar to the other lawsuits, tenants allege Two Trees applied rent increases to stabilized units based on the full rent of the apartments rather than the preferential rent, which considers concessions such as free months when a lease is initially signed.
The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 requires rent increases to be applied to preferential rent, not full rent.
The tenants allege their landlord overcharged them by more than $30 million in the last five years.
Two Trees denies the accusations at 300 Ashland, a 379-unit complex that opened a decade ago.
“Frivolous litigation like this drives up the already extraordinary cost of building and operating housing in New York City,” Two Trees executive David Lombino said in a statement.
Two Trees has another 421a project, River Ring in Williamsburg, in the works. That project is triple the size of the one at 300 Ashland.
Since August, Newman Ferrara has filed class-action lawsuits against more than a dozen landlords alleging rent overcharges following concessions at their buildings.
Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer became Roger Sachar’s target for allegedly overcharging tenants who received rent concessions at 420 Kent Avenue, an 857-unit building in Williamsburg. Carr estimated tenants could be owed as much as $30 million.
More recently, tenants at three Rockrose Development buildings in Long Island City filed a class-action lawsuit alleging more than $50 million in 421a rent overcharges.
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Eliot Spitzer’s Williamsburg tenants lodge 421a rent hike lawsuit
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