DRA Didn't Request Proof of Apartment Improvement Costs

(Decision submitted by Martin Shulman of the Manhattan law firm of Shaw & Binder, attorneys for the landlord.) Facts: Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. The DRA sent landlord a request for rent history documentation, and didn't specifically request proof of costs for apartment improvements made after tenant moved out of the apartment. So landlord didn't submit proof of the cost of a stove and refrigerator installed after tenant moved out. The DRA found that landlord had collected a rent overcharge, and recalculated both the complaining tenant's rent and the subsequent tenant's rent. Landlord appealed and, for the first time, submitted proof of costs of apartment improvements made just before the subsequent tenant moved in. DHCR: Landlord's proof of the cost of the stove and refrigerator was accepted with its PAR because the DRA never requested this documentation, and the costs of these improvements weren't at issue in the proceeding before the DRA.

[Goldman: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. Nos. CB 410036-RO, CB 410032-RT, EJ 410022-RO (12/7/92)]. 12-page document.