Owner Could Evict Tenant for Not Paying Annual Base Rent Increases

To settle a rent dispute, a tenant agreed to pay its rent arrears in monthly installments and to comply with all monetary lease terms. The tenant made the rent arrears payments and paid its monthly base rent. But it didn't pay the annual increases in base rent spelled out in the lease. The owner discovered the discrepancy during an internal audit and asked the tenant to pay the annual base rent increases. The tenant refused to do so. The owner then sued to evict the tenant for violating the settlement agreement.

A New York appeals court ruled that the owner could evict the tenant and ordered the tenant to pay the owner the annual base rent increases. The court noted that the tenant didn't have an excuse for not paying the annual base rent increases due under the lease. And the owner's delay in demanding the annual base rent increases didn't amount to a waiver of its right to such rent, the court added [Palace Renaissance, Inc. v. Sareb Restaurant Corp.].