Landlord Got Late Notice of Tenant's Complaint

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. The DRA ruled for tenant based on landlord's failure to submit a complete rent history. Since tenant's complaint was filed before April 1, 1984, landlord was required to submit rent records going back to 1974. But landlord's rent records only went back to 1978. Landlord appealed, claiming that tenant didn't sign the overcharge complaint. The DHCR ruled that it didn't matter that tenant didn't sign the complaint, since there was no proof that this affected landlord's ability to respond. But even though the complaint was filed before April 1, 1984, the DHCR didn't give landlord notice of the complaint until sometime after 1984. So landlord's submission of rent history records back to 1978 was considered sufficient, and there was no overcharge.

Brusco: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. NF410002RP (5/31/00) [2-pg. doc.]