No Fraud Found in Connection with Rent Overcharge

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled for tenant and ordered landlord to refund $23,662, including triple damages and interest. Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant claimed that landlord had committed fraud and that his rent should be reduced further by reviewing the apartment's pre-base date rental history and applying the DHCR's default method. Tenant's fraud claim was based on a 2009 apartment rent increase from $1,113 to $1,700 when prior tenant moved in. But an increase in rent alone isn't sufficient to establish a colorable claim of fraud. And while landlord registered the apartment as permanently exempt (PE) in 2009, it later resumed rent registrations at rent-stabilized rents lower than the deregulation threshold. Rent registrations also matched landlord's lease records. Landlord also proved that tenant was charged preferential rents.

Placido: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. FU410004RP (10/10/18) [6-pg. doc.]