No Fraud Found in Case Where There Was No Overcharge

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding no overcharge and no indication of fraud warranting review of pre-base date rent history. The DRA also directed landlord to amend tenant's current lease to reflect the legal rent determined by the DRA and to issue tenant a rent rider for her vacancy lease and current renewal lease.

Tenant appealed and lost. The DRA properly found that there was insufficient proof of any fraudulent scheme to deregulate the apartment. First, landlord's failure to include rent riders with some leases, by itself, didn't show that landlord engaged in fraud. Landlord didn't give tenant leases notifying her that she wasn't rent stabilized. There also was no proof that landlord engaged in a fraudulent scheme to deregulate the apartment. Landlord gave tenant a rent-stabilized lease and filed annual rent registrations contemporaneous with the leases. There also was no material difference between the rent registration history and lease history. The fact that landlord registered a preferential rent in the base date registration, which wasn't set forth in the base date lease, was an error rather than fraud by landlord.

Cuzo: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. ES110050RT (4/5/17) [7-pg. doc.]