No Rent Freeze for Not Serving RR-1

(Decision submitted by Karen Schwartz-Sidrane of the Lake Success law firm of Daniels Norelli Schwartz-Sidrane & Cecere, L.L.P., attorneys for the landlord.) Facts: Tenant filed a fair market rent appeal. The DRA ruled for tenant, reducing the initial rent-stabilized rent for tenant's apartment to $500, effective April 1, 1978. Applicable vacancy and renewal increases were added to set tenant's current lawful rent. Tenant appealed, claiming that the rent charged on April 1, 1984, should have been frozen due to landlord's not filing and serving the tenant then living in the apartment with the initial registration (RR-1) form. DHCR: Tenant loses. The correct penalty for landlord's not serving the RR-1 is to consider tenant's fair market rent appeal to be filed on time; no additional penalty such as freezing the rent is warranted. Also, the purpose of serving tenant with an RR-1 form is to give tenant a chance to file a fair market rent appeal. Since the fair market rent appeal was already filed in this case, and the fair market rent already determined, it wouldn't make sense to insist that landlord still be required to serve the RR-1 form, or to freeze the rent until service of the form was completed.

Angel/430 Realty Co.: DHCR Admin. Rev. Dckt. Nos. JF410168RO, JF410161RT (6/14/96) [6-page document]