Complaint Properly Named Managing Agent

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. The DRA ruled for tenant and ordered landlord to refund $14,000, including triple damages for willful overcharge. Landlord appealed. Landlord, which owned the building, argued that the complaint should be dismissed because it only named the building's managing agent as landlord. It didn't name owner. The DHCR ruled against landlord. In an earlier order, the DHCR had named the managing agent as landlord. The managing agent then appealed, and the court sent the case back to the DHCR to correct this. At that point, landlord owner received notice of tenant's complaint and didn't respond. So landlord had notice of the complaint. And tenant reasonably named managing agent as landlord in her complaint, since he had signed a prior termination notice to tenant, calling himself landlord.

164 Development Corp.: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. SK210030RO (1/6/05) [3-pg. doc.]