Monthly Rent Reduced to $1 After Apartment Fire

Tenant complained of a reduction in services after a fire rendered his apartment uninhabitable. The DRA reduced tenant’s rent to $1 per month while he was displaced. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that tenant caused the fire by use of a faulty microwave oven. Unless there was gross negligence or criminality on the part of the tenant, the cause of the fire is irrelevant to the DHCR’s decision to reduce the rent after HPD issues a vacate order. The opinion of landlord’s insurance adjuster that the fire was caused by the tenant’s microwave is insufficient to reverse the rent reduction. 

Emerald Green LP: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. DP210002RO (11/6/15) [2-pg. doc.]