Apartment Was Habitable

Tenant complained of a reduction in services. She had to move out of her apartment temporarily after a fire in the building. The DRA ruled for tenant and reduced her rent to $1.00 per month. Landlord later applied for rent restoration based on restoration of services. The DRA ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed, claiming that the rent should have been restored effective April 2002, not December 2001, because her apartment wasn't habitable until then. The DHCR ruled against tenant. Landlord gave tenant keys in December 2001. Landlord's documents showed that the apartment was habitable at that time. Debris in the hallways and stairways may have been grounds for a claim for rent abatement, but it didn't make tenant's apartment uninhabitable. Tenant didn't claim that she wasn't able to reoccupy the apartment in December 2001.

Courellis: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. RB120108RT (11/7/03) [3-pg. doc.]