Landlord Can't Increase Rent Due to Outstanding Harassment Order

Landlord sued to evict tenant. Landlord claimed that the building wasn't rent stabilized because it had been substantially rehabilitated. Tenant, in turn, claimed a rent overcharge. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed, arguing that even if the building didn't qualify as substantially rehabilitated, tenant's duplex apartment was created in 1994 by combining apartments and landlord was entitled to collect a first rent. The appeals court ruled against landlord. The DHCR had ruled in 1988 that prior landlord harassed tenants. Under the harassment order, tenant's apartment ''or any replacement or subdivision thereof'' remained rent stabilized, and landlord couldn't collect any rent increase until the DHCR made a finding that the harassing conduct had been eliminated. Since there had been no DHCR ruling lifting the harassment finding, landlord wasn't entitled to charge a first rent for tenant's apartment in 1994. So tenant was overcharged.

446 Realty Co. v. Higbie: NYLJ, 6/5/03, p. 20, col. 6 (App. T. 1 Dept.; McCooe, JP, Davis, Schoenfeld, JJ)