Rent-Stabilized Tenant Overcharged Roommate

Rent-stabilized tenant's roommate complained that tenant had overcharged him. The DRA ruled for the roommate. Tenant appealed and won, in part. Tenant claimed that what she charged roommate included fees for cable TV, household supplies, Internet services, and liability insurance. The Rent Stabilization Code makes no provision for adding nonrent expenses to a roommate's rent. While reimbursement may be made by separate agreement, in this case those expenses weren't separately reimbursed, but were estimated and incorporated into the rent tenant charged roommate. But roommate didn't submit proof of the amount of rent claimed to be paid to tenant. So the DHCR used the amounts that tenant claimed were paid and reduced the total overcharge from $18,970 to $14,339. 

Fisher: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. ZF410038RT (10/17/13) [2-pg. doc.]