Landlord Fined $8,000 for Failing to Fix Apartment Conditions After Ordered to Do So

Rent-stabilized tenant complained to the DHCR of a reduction in required services in his apartment. The DRA ruled for tenant, finding that the apartment wasn't maintained in a good, reasonable, and safe manner. The DHCR's inspector found damage to the kitchen cabinets, including a rusted surface, holes, and peeling paint. The DRA also found mold-like stains in the bathroom, and cracks, loose wallpaper, deteriorated grout, a cracked ceiling, peeling paint and plaster, water marks on the ceiling and walls, and an improperly installed light fixture with hazardous exposed wiring in one of the bathrooms. In the living room, the DRA found a cracked ceiling and walls with peeling paint and plaster, improper drywall installation, damaged and cracked floor tiles, severely damaged wooden window frames, broken window glazing, inoperable window sashes, and inoperable windows. The DRA directed landlord to fix the conditions before Oct. 16, 2016. Landlord filed no PAR, so the DRA's decision became a final DHCR order. Further DHCR inspection in May 2017 found no repairs had been made. The DHCR scheduled a hearing and, after a number of conferences, held the hearing in 2023, which resulted in an order imposing $8,000 in penalties against landlord for violating the DRA's order to restore the apartment to good condition. 

Landlord filed an Article 78 court appeal of the DHCR's decision, claiming that the penalty was excessive. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord challenged only the penalty, not the DHCR's underlying fact-finding. Landlord could only successfully challenge the penalty if it was so severe as to shock the court's sense of fairness. The court didn't find the penalty shocking or an abuse of the DHCR's discretion. The DHCR fined landlord $1,000 for each of the eight identified services and conditions that hadn't been restored or repaired. The DHCR had in fact imposed the minimum penalties that it was authorized to and obligated to impose under the Rent Stabilization Code. 

P & I Property, LLC v. DHCR: Index No. 158342/2023, 2024 NY Slip Op 33255(U)(Sup. Ct. NY; 9/17/24; Kelley, J)