DHCR Must Consider Rent Increase Collected Before Four-Year Time Limit

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. The DRA ruled for tenant, and landlord appealed. While tenant's PAR was pending, the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997 went into effect. Applying that law's four-year time limit, the DHCR found there was no overcharge since the base date and ruled against tenant. Tenant appealed and won. In its PAR decision, the DHCR had refused to look at rental history records for the apartment prior to Feb. 26, 1987. But the rental history must include not only the rent on the base date but all of the information contained in the lease in effect on that date. In this case, the rent in effect on the base date was the prior tenant's rent, which was set in a renewal lease dated Oct. 14, 1986. Tenant moved in on March 15, 1987. Reviewing prior tenant's lease showed that landlord had ``piggybacked'' rent increases during the same guidelines period when tenant moved in. This caused a rent overcharge. The case was sent back to the DHCR for recalculation.

Sadler v. Lynch: NYLJ, 12/27/00, p. 26, col. 4 (Sup. Ct. NY; Schneier, J)