Landlord Proves Base Date Rent Through Rent Receipt

Tenant complained of rent overcharge in 2018. The DRA ruled against tenant, found no overcharge, and noted that the current legal regulated rent was $1,820 per month.

Landlord appealed and won, in part. Landlord argued that the apartment had been vacancy-deregulated and that it was unable to produce lease records due to document destruction during an asbestos treatment. Landlord claimed that the base date rent was $1,912 per month and that a subsequent vacancy increase based on the statutory increase, longevity increase, and an individual apartment improvement (IAI) increase yielded a new rent of $2,733 in 2014.

The DHCR found that the DRA properly determined the base date rent to be $1,595 per month, which was the actual rent charged and paid on the base date. This was proved by a rent receipt. But since there was no base date lease, no higher legal regulated rent (LRR) can be found to have been preserved under ETPA Section 2501.2(b). Also, rent registration records show a base date rent of $1,912 but did not match a $2,102 rent set forth in a rent ledger submitted by landlord. Based on the legal $1,595 base date rent, landlord was entitled to a LRR of $2,336.88 per month starting Aug. 1, 2014, after adding a vacancy increase, longevity increase, and IAI increase. This rent didn't exceed the deregulation threshold then in effect. So the apartment remained rent stabilized and landlord in fact treated the unit as rent stabilized by offering tenant a preferential rent. Landlord did preserve a

LRR in an amount less than $2,336.88 as well as a preferential rent in a later renewal lease. So the LRR was $1,821.93, not $1,820 as previously calculated by the DRA. 

Executive House Assoc. LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. JW910010RO (2/17/22)[3-pg. document]