Default Method Properly Used to Calculate Rent Overcharge

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of a rent overcharge. The DRA ruled for tenant and ordered landlord to refund overcharges, including triple damages. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that the DRA improperly used the DHCR's default method to compute the legal rent. Landlord had submitted a rent ledger as proof of the base date rent and documentation of individual apartment improvements (IAI). The DRA also ignored the fact that tenant had moved out of the apartment owing $13,670 in back rent.

The DHCR found that the base date rent couldn't be determined because landlord didn't submit a base date lease or rent ledger, so the DRA properly used the agency's default method to set the rent. The DRA took the lowest stabilized rent from the DHCR's 2007 registration information for the same size apartment in the same building. This was the last year that all apartments were registered in the building.  The rent ledger landlord submitted was insufficient because other lease and registration records were inconsistent with the ledger information. And the IAI cost information was insufficient because it didn't indicate which apartment the work was performed in or what materials were purchased. 

Abe Abe LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. ZB210040RO (3/5/13) [3-pg. doc.]