Rent Overcharge Resulted from 1993 Rent Reduction Order

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled for tenant, based on a 1993 rent reduction order that had remained in place. The DRA ordered landlord to refund $30,825, including interest. Landlord appealed and lost. In addition to the 1993 rent freeze order, three additional rent reduction orders for the apartment were issued in 2014, 2015, and 2016. A rent restoration order wasn't issued until 2016. Landlord argued that a 25-year-old rent reduction order issued against prior landlord shouldn't bar rent increases. But New York's highest court ruled in 2010 in Cintron v. Calogero that the DHCR could look back more than four years to consider agency rent reduction orders that were still in effect. The DHCR properly considered its own records to find the rent reduction order that was still in effect.

2385 LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. GR610007RO (3/29/19) [3-pg. doc.]