No Proof Tenant Caused Fire

Tenant complained of a reduction in services after a fire left the apartment uninhabitable. The DRA ruled for tenant and reduced his rent to $1 per month until the apartment could be reoccupied. Landlord appealed. Landlord claimed that tenant had caused the fire and should not be allowed back into the apartment. The DHCR ruled against landlord. The fire department report stated that the fire was caused by an overloaded outlet in tenant's apartment. Landlord claimed that this was tenant's fault. But tenant claimed that a stove and a microwave had been plugged into the outlet for 11 years before the fire. The marshal's report specifically stated only that the cause of the fire was from the heat of a hardwired electrical outlet in the kitchen. There was no proof that the fire was caused by tenant's negligence.

J.C. Management: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. UH110004-RO (11/17/06) [2-pg. doc.]