Tenant Can't Challenge Rent Set by Lease in Settlement Agreement

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. He said that (a) he never received a lease from landlord in 2007; (b) the apartment registrations were fraudulent; and (c) landlord's claim that tenant had a lease from July 2006 through June 2009 was false. The DRA ruled against tenant. Tenant's apartment was under Mitchell-Lama between 2006 and 2009. So the DHCR couldn't address a lease claim for that period. Tenant signed a lease for the term between June 1, 2010, and May 31, 2012, under a court stipulation. So, any question about that lease had to be raised in court.

Tenant appealed and lost. The DRA properly found that the first post-Mitchell-Lama lease for the apartment was signed under a so-ordered court settlement agreement. Both sides were represented by attorneys. Since the court and the DHCR both have jurisdiction over rent overcharge claims, it was proper to leave any question about the lease to the court that approved the settlement agreement. And there was no proof that the apartment was improperly registered with the DHCR starting in 2007. And since the DRA already reviewed records dating back six years before tenant's complaint was filed, application of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) wouldn't change the result.

Linder: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. GR610054RT (1/10/20) [4-pg. doc.]