DHCR Must Reconsider Rent Overcharge Decision

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge in 2005. The DHCR ruled against tenant, finding no overcharge. The registered monthly rent on the base date, four years before tenant filed her complaint, was $1,450, the same amount tenant paid when she moved in. Tenant appealed, arguing that the DHCR should have looked past the 2001 registration statement. Prior landlord filed no annual rent registration statements after 1999. The 1999 registered rent for the apartment was $579. New landlord bought the building after tenant moved in, and subsequently filed late registrations for the years 2001 through 2005. The court ruled for tenant. Tenant had submitted to the DHCR a statement from prior tenant. Prior tenant had moved into the apartment in 2000 and paid $1,450 per month. But prior landlord hadn't given prior tenant a rent-stabilization rider explaining how it calculated prior tenant's rent, and didn't register prior tenant's rent. The rent increased 250 percent from 1999 to 2000. The DHCR didn't discuss whether the 2001 registration was legitimate. It simply relied on the 2001 registration to set the base rent. The DHCR must reconsider the rent history. If there are no reliable rent records, tenant's rent must be set using the default method.

Grimm v. DHCR: NYLJ, 12/27/07, p. 26, col. 1 (Sup. Ct. NY; Kornreich, J)