No New Overcharge Collected Since Prior Rent Overcharge Ruling

Tenant complained to the DHCR of rent overcharge in 2022. She claimed that an earlier DHCR order had granted her $35,000 in rent overcharges for a prior period and that she now sought a rent overcharge refund for the period starting in June 2014 going forward. The DRA ruled against tenant, who appealed and lost. The DRA correctly determined that the base rent date for tenant's new complaint was July 6, 2016, six years before she filed the complaint. The base date rent in 2016 was $4,000 and the rent hadn't been increased since then. So there was no overcharge. The legal rent as of May 2014 was $2,996. But landlord was entitled to collect vacancy rent increases in 2014 and 2015 when roommates became a co-tenants. The legal regulated rent increased to $4,119 in 2015, which was higher than the collected base date rent.

Martusewicz: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. MM210023RT (4/10/24)[3-pg. document]