Landlord Didn't Document Pre-Base Date Rent History in Support of Claimed Deregulation

Tenant complained to the DHCR in 2018 of rent overcharge and improper deregulation of his apartment. The DRA ruled for tenant, found that he was rent stabilized, and found a total overcharge following the four-year base date of $28,540, including interest and triple damages. Since tenant owed $30,420 in back rent by that point, no refund was due.

Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that the apartment was permanently deregulated in 2005, that tenant waited 12 years to file his complaint, that tenant didn't allege fraud, and that the DRA was barred from examining rental history predating the applicable four-year lookback period for rent overcharge. The DHCR disagreed. The last legal registered rent prior to apartment deregulation was $629 per month. The DRA asked landlord to document the deregulation with the 2005-06 deregulated lease and an explanation of how the rent reached the deregulation threshold. Landlord didn't respond except to repeatedly argue that it wasn't required to do so. However, it is well established that rent registration records alone do not prove proper deregulation, and that pre-base date rental events may be examined for the purposes of determining whether an apartment is subject to rent stabilization. Notably, landlord didn't claim that the DRA's rent overcharge calculations were incorrect.

117 West 15th LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. LU410005RO (1/11/24)[4-pg. document]