Tenant Gets Four Years to Challenge Rent Registration

Facts: Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant claimed a rent overcharge. He had moved into the apartment in 1997. Landlord filed rent registrations in March 1998 for the years 1994, 1995, and 1996, listing the monthly rent as $500 for each of those years. In July 1998, landlord registered the 1998 rent as $500. Before the 1998 registration filings, the last registered rent was $200 in 1992. Landlord argued that, since tenant raised his overcharge claim in October 1998, the base date rent for determining any possible overcharge was the registered 1994 rent of $500. Court: Tenant wins. Tenant could challenge landlord's rent registrations for four years after their date of filing. So the registrations filed in March 1998 for prior years were subject to challenge. Also, the rent registration that was filed four years before was the base rent to be used to calculate a rent overcharge claim, even if this registration had been on file for more than four years. So the base rent for determining any overcharge was the $200 rent registered in 1992.

319 West LLC v. Gold: NYLJ, p. 27, col. 6 (2/10/99) (Civ. Ct. NY; Hoffman, J)