Apartment Vacant on Base Rent Date

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. He moved into the rent-stabilized apartment on Nov. 1, 2004, at a monthly rent of $1,350. The DRA found no overcharge and dismissed the complaint. Tenant appealed and lost. The base date for tenant’s complaint was Oct. 31, 2004, four years before tenant’s complaint was filed. On that date, the apartment was vacant. So tenant’s initial rent was the base date rent for purposes of calculating any overcharge, pursuant to Rent Stabilization Code Section 2526.1(a)(3)(iii). It didn’t matter that landlord didn’t register his rent until August 2005, or that tenant questioned the claimed cost of apartment improvements made before he moved in.

Treitel: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. XH410035RT (2/18/10) [2-pg. doc.]