Tenant Didn't Prove Landlord Waived Appliance Surcharges
LVT Number: #33316
Rent-stabilized tenant complained to the DHCR of rent overcharge based on claimed improper air conditioner and washing machine surcharge fees collected by landlord. The DRA ruled against tenant because tenant submitted no proof of purchase for the appliances and the DRA therefore couldn't determine if landlord failed to begin timely collection of the surcharges. Tenant had been paying the washing machine surcharge since May 2016 and the air conditioner surcharge since July 2018.
Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant never submitted proof of when she installed the appliances although requested by the DRA to do so. Tenant also submitted conflicting information, claiming that she began using the appliances in 1991 but that she purchased them in 1992. So it hadn't been established whether landlord waived the surcharges for waiting too long to collect them. Landlord also showed that it stopped collecting the $5 monthly air conditioner surcharge after Nov. 21, 2022, when the surcharge was discontinued by law.
De La Cruz: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. LV610024RT (1/24/24)[2-pg. document]