Apartment Rented at over $2,000 per Month

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. Landlord showed that the base rent was more than $2,000 per month four years before tenant's complaint was filed. The DRA ruled against tenant because the apartment was deregulated on the base date. Tenant appealed, claiming that a rent reduction under rent control was possibly still in place on the base date. Tenant also argued that the DRA should have demanded more proof of the base date rent from landlord. The DHCR ruled against tenant. Landlord submitted sufficient proof of the base date rent. Landlord submitted a copy of the lease in place on the base date, annual rent registration records, and Con Edison records documenting that the registered tenant had a utility account for the apartment. Although a copy of a canceled rent check would have been the best evidence of rent paid four years earlier, landlord wasn't required to submit this proof to the DHCR. Also, it would be difficult for landlord to get a copy of this document. The fact that the telephone for the apartment at that time was in someone else's name didn't prove anything, since another occupant could have lived with tenant.

Ng: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. TJ410024RT (3/20/06) [4-pg. doc.]