Rent History Records Must Be Kept to Prove How Apartment Was Deregulated

Tenant complained of rent overcharge and improper deregulation of his apartment. The DRA ruled for tenant and ruled that the apartment wasn't deregulated, the four-year base rent date was March 4, 2013, the base date rent of $1,600 was the rent charged and paid on the base date, and that after March 4, 2013, a rent overcharge occurred totaling over $21,000 with triple damages.

Landlord appealed and contested the triple damages. It claimed that it was improper to impose an obligation on landlord to retain records of the 2006 deregulation, which predated the four-year base date.

The DHCR ruled against landlord. Even prior to 2014 amendments to the Rent Stabilization Code, and as pointed out in a number of court decisions, the DHCR was obligated to look beyond the four-year review period in cases of deregulation to determine an apartment's rent-regulated status. The DHCR even cited the May 2021 appellate case of AEJ 534 E. 88th v. DHCR (LVT #31435) where the court said that, "regardless of its age, an apartment's rent history is always subject to review to determine whether the apartment is rent-regulated" and that the 2020 Regina v. DHCR Court of Appeals decision didn't restrict that. 

Fengji Enterprise Inc.: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. IV210018RO (5/17/21) [5-pg. doc.]