Fuel Cost Adjustment Reduced Based on Incorrect Building Room Count

Rent-controlled tenant challenged landlord's 2018 fuel cost adjustment (FCA) report, claiming that it was based on an incorrect building room count. The DRA agreed with tenant and corrected the 2018 FCA to $0.92 per room per month. The collectable cumulative FCA from 1980 to 2018 was reduced to $0.21 per month. This meant the FCA for tenant was $2.76 per month. Since landlord was charging tenant $17.91 per month, there was a rent overcharge and landlord must refund the difference. Landlord appealed and lost. One of the factors in determining an allowable FCA is the total number of rooms in a building as well as a requirement that a room count be assigned to commercial space. Landlord wrongly indicated there were two stores with five rooms in the building. There were in fact four stores with 11 rooms. 

Treasure Lee Realty, Inc.: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. GU420014RO (1/24/19) [3-pg. doc.]