Rent increase TAL case on old apartment that broke building safety code?

I’ve moved out from an apartment a couple of months ago, a bit of a complicated story but a new owner bought the property and agreed to cut my lease even though I had an open TAL case with the old owner of the building for a rent increase on the last renewal

For several logistical reasons with the sale and transfer of ownership the old owner now needs to dismiss the case and then open another one if they want to recoup the difference in rent I would’ve paid with the increase (around 500 dollars). He’s asking me to pay the amount on top the court fees or he will pursue further

Thing is I had refused the increase due to a multitude of issues with the apartment, most pertinently the electricity which would short constantly. I had come to find out the building is being fed less than half the amount amperage required by code for a building of this size. Multiple electricians have flagged it as a fire hazard, and the new owner is going to soon re-do the entire electrical wiring and input in his upcoming renovations

I’m planning on reasoning with the old landlord on if he really thinks it’s worth it to go to court for like 500 dollars on a building he knowingly broke safety code on for years. Not mentioning the plethora of other issues and falsely listed repairs on his court filing.

My question is, is that actually a valid enough safety concern for the TAL to null a rent increase? From my research they take safety violations pretty seriously