Landlord Can't Deem Renewal Lease Under Amended Rent Stabilization Code

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DHCR ruled against tenant, who filed an Article 78 court appeal. The court sent the case back to the DHCR for reconsideration. The DHCR then ruled for tenant. In calculating the legal regulated rent, the DRA had deemed a renewal lease starting July 1, 2009. Tenant claimed that she never received the renewal offer from landlord. Landlord claimed that it sent the renewal lease offer but that tenant refused to accept it. In the meantime, the law had changed. In the case of Samson Management LLC v. Hubert, a court ruled that under Real Property Law (RPL) Section 232c, a landlord can't deem a renewal lease without an express or implied agreement to the contrary. And in January 2014, Rent Stabilization Code Sections 2523.5(c)(2) and (3) were amended to be consistent with RPL Section 232c. So tenant was a month-to-month tenant from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010, and landlord wasn't entitled to collect a rent increase during that period. There was no actual overcharge, given amounts of rent owed by tenant to landlord. [PDF]

Pultinas: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. CN410001RP (5/22/14) [3-pg. doc.]