Landlord Didn't Prove Entitlement to Higher Base Rent

March 1, 2004

LVT Number: 17181

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. The DHCR ruled for tenant and found that the overcharge was willful. Landlord appealed, claiming that the DHCR miscalculated the base rent in the overcharge case. The court and appeals court ruled against landlord. The DHCR reasonably used the registered rent figure provided by landlord as the base rent. The same figure was used by landlord in its computations of vacancy and longevity rent increases. Landlord didn't submit any proof of actual rents collected or other rent history data to support its higher base rent claim.

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. The DHCR ruled for tenant and found that the overcharge was willful. Landlord appealed, claiming that the DHCR miscalculated the base rent in the overcharge case. The court and appeals court ruled against landlord. The DHCR reasonably used the registered rent figure provided by landlord as the base rent. The same figure was used by landlord in its computations of vacancy and longevity rent increases. Landlord didn't submit any proof of actual rents collected or other rent history data to support its higher base rent claim.

Hawthorne Gardens, LLC v. DHCR: NYLJ, 2/13/04, p. 26, col. 3 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Tom, JP, Andrias, Sullivan, Lerner, JJ)

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