Rent Overcharge Determined for Rent-Controlled Tenant

Rent-controlled tenant complained of rent overcharge in 2017, claiming that landlord improperly calculated the maximum base rent (MBR) for 20 years and that he paid $1,948 per month. The DRA ruled for tenant and found that the maximum collectible rent (MCR) effective March 1, 2018, was $687.

Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord argued that the base date for overcharge determination was in 2015, two years before tenant filed his complaint, and that the DRA's recalculation of MBRs and MCRs for periods prior to 2015 violated the two-year statute of limitations for overcharge claims under rent control. The DHCR pointed out that it can't issue an order concerning rent overcharge for rent-controlled tenants that can be entered as a judgment. But the DRA correctly applied rent control regulations to examine the cumulative computerized rent history from Jan. 1, 1972. The DRA's calculations were based on MBR orders previously determined and not challenged by the landlord.

5400 Company: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. GP620029RO (10/24/18) [4-pg. doc.]