DHCR Properly Treated Rent Overcharge Complaint as Fair Market Rent Appeal

March 1, 2003

LVT Number: 16369

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. The DHCR treated tenant's overcharge complaint as a fair market rent appeal and reduced tenant's rent. Landlord appealed, claiming that conversion of the overcharge complaint to a fair market rent appeal was improper. The court ruled for landlord. The DHCR appealed and won. Landlord never sent tenant the required notice that the apartment status had changed from rent controlled to rent stabilized. And tenant stated in his complaint that he believed prior tenant was rent controlled.

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. The DHCR treated tenant's overcharge complaint as a fair market rent appeal and reduced tenant's rent. Landlord appealed, claiming that conversion of the overcharge complaint to a fair market rent appeal was improper. The court ruled for landlord. The DHCR appealed and won. Landlord never sent tenant the required notice that the apartment status had changed from rent controlled to rent stabilized. And tenant stated in his complaint that he believed prior tenant was rent controlled. So the DHCR properly converted the complaint to one challenging the initial rent-stabilized rent.

1 BK St. Corp. v. DHCR: NYLJ, 2/24/03, p. 18, col. 5 (App. Div.1 Dept.; Saxe, JP, Sullivan, Ellerin, Lerner, Gonzalez, JJ)

Topics

More like this