Apartment Vacant on Base Date

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding no overcharge. Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant claimed that landlord's proof of $25,000 spent on apartment improvements before prior tenant moved in was fraudulent. But it didn't matter how landlord set prior tenant's rent. The apartment was vacant on the base date, four years before tenant's complaint was filed. So when prior tenant moved in after the base date, the rent landlord charged became the first rent for the purposes of determining whether tenant was overcharged.

Kessler: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. YD910075RT (7/26/10) [2-pg. doc.]