DHCR Properly Deemed Leases to Set Rent

June 30, 2003

LVT Number: 16666

In a DHCR case, the agency set tenant's initial 1980 legal rent at $607, deemed lease renewals for the years after that, and set tenant's 2001 rent at $1,245. As a result, tenant owed back rent totaling over $100,000. Tenant appealed, claiming that the DHCR's decision was unreasonable. The court and appeals court ruled against tenant. The DHCR's use of the 1980--81 MBR and electrical, labor, and service adjustments to calculate the initial legal rent was rational. The DHCR also had the authority to deem renewal leases, given the unique circumstances of the case.

In a DHCR case, the agency set tenant's initial 1980 legal rent at $607, deemed lease renewals for the years after that, and set tenant's 2001 rent at $1,245. As a result, tenant owed back rent totaling over $100,000. Tenant appealed, claiming that the DHCR's decision was unreasonable. The court and appeals court ruled against tenant. The DHCR's use of the 1980--81 MBR and electrical, labor, and service adjustments to calculate the initial legal rent was rational. The DHCR also had the authority to deem renewal leases, given the unique circumstances of the case. The case had been pending for a long time, and the rent regulation status of tenant's apartment, which had been combined with the next door apartment, was uncertain. The DHCR also allowed tenant to pay the back rent over a three-year period.

Kramer v. DHCR: NYLJ, 6/26/03, p. 18, col. 3 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Buckley, PJ, Tom, Rosenberger, Ellerin, Williams, JJ)

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