No Fraud Where Landlord Charged Same Rent After Combining Apartments

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding no overcharge. Tenant appealed and lost. The base rent date for tenant's complaint was June 1, 2005. At that time, prior tenant paid $1,300 per month under a renewal lease that landlord produced. When tenant moved in, landlord charged him $1,444 per month, which was less than the $1,560 landlord could have charged using the applicable 20 percent vacancy increase. The base date lease was reliable and was confirmed by the 2006 annual rent registration. Tenant claimed fraud because landlord had previously divided the fourth floor into two apartments, before reverting back to the single fourth-floor apartment that tenant occupied. But, even if landlord had divided tenant's apartment into two units in 2005 and was charging $1,300 per month for unit 4RR and less for unit 4RF, it was reasonable for the DRA to use the higher of the two rents in determining the base date rent. The fact that DOB ordered landlord to convert the divided units back into one apartment didn't mean that the base date rent was arbitrary or fraudulent. It was reasonable for landlord to charge at least $1,300 for the single fourth-floor apartment that tenant occupied when he charged that much for the apartment that was half that size during the subdivision.

Wetterau: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. YL110047RT (10/24/14) [4-pg. doc.]