Apartment Wasn't Rent Stabilized After Owner Occupancy

Tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding that tenant  moved in after vacancy deregulation and that the apartment therefore wasn’t rent stabilized. Tenant appealed and lost. The DRA looked at records before the four-year base date and properly found that there was no fraud shown that would permit consideration of older rent history records to determine an overcharge. The apartment was owner occupied for several years. The first tenant after that temporary exemption, who was the prior tenant, was charged $2,250 per month starting in March 2007. At that time Rent Stabilization Code Section 2526.1 provided for the first rent to be set after temporary exemption by agreement between landlord and tenant. Since that rent was over the deregulation threshold, the rent was properly deregulated. So the next tenant, who was the complaining tenant, wasn’t rent stabilized. The DRA also correctly declined to further investigate other pre-base date rental events. The fact that landlord registered the apartment as vacant from 2003 to 2006 and then later claimed that the apartment was owner occupied for part of that time wasn’t proof of fraud. Either way, the apartment wasn't occupied by rent-stabilized tenants during that time. Landlord’s nephew also submitted a sworn statement that he lived in the apartment during the time in question, and tenant presented no contrary evidence.

Healy: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. ER410062RT (1/24/17) [6-pg. doc.]