Should I pay rent during my Housing Court case?

After tenants receive legal papers, they are often confused when the landlord refuses to accept any rent afterwards. It is perfectly natural for landlords to refuse rent once the court case has begun.

If your landlord accepts your rent after sending a notice of termination, you can rejoice: a landlord's court case will generally be dismissed if he accepts rent during the court case. The landlord, however, can ask the court if he can collect money while the case is pending, but he can't call it rent. Instead of calling it rent, the landlord collects use and occupancy. The use and occupancy is usually the same amount as the rent.

Tenants have the right to oppose any landlord's request for use and occupancy. Tenants often argue that if they have not done anything to obstruct or delay the court proceedings, they should not have to pay. Also, tenants often ask courts to reduce the rate of use and occupancy based on poor conditions in the apartment.

My advice to tenants, however, is that you should always agree to pay the full use and occupancy in a holdover proceeding. Every month, right on time. First of all, if you win your court case at trial, you will have to pay the use of occupancy anyway. Second, fighting use and occupancy is a foolish waste of time that is better spent trying to win your court case. Third and most important, paying it makes you look at good in front of the judge. Impressions count.

Paying the use and occupancy takes away one claim the landlord has against you. In court, as in sports, every point counts.