Tenant Can Review Pre-Base Date Rent Records

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant claimed rent overcharge and asked the court for permission to conduct pretrial questioning and demand rent history records back to 1993. Landlord had registered both the legal regulated rent and preferential rent and argued that the issue of rent overcharge was limited to events occurring since the 2011 base rent date, four years before tenant raised the overcharge claim. The court ruled for tenant. Landlord had filed amended rent registrations going back four years before the date it bought the building based on amended leases, and gave tenant a preferential rent. This raised questions as to whether there was fraud intended to deregulate the apartment. So tenant could conduct modest and narrowly tailored pretrial questioning, but only back to the year 2000.

Landlord Services LLC v. Acevedo: Index No. L&T12635/15, NYLJ No. 1202734993374 (Civ. Ct. Bronx; 8/19/15; Marin, J)