Tenant's Careless Smoking Caused Fire

Tenant complained of a reduction in services after a fire made his apartment uninhabitable. The DRA ruled for tenant and reduced his rent to $1 per month. Landlord appealed, arguing that there was no failure on its part to maintain services. The fire was caused by tenant's negligence. The fire marshal's report showed that the cause of the fire was tenant's careless smoking. The DHCR ruled against landlord, finding that it had no authority to determine whether tenant was responsible for the fire. Landlord appealed to the court, claiming that the DHCR's decision was unreasonable. The court sent the case back and ordered the DHCR to rule on the potential responsibility of tenant in causing the fire. On reconsideration, the DHCR ruled for landlord. The fire marshall's report was proof that tenant, not landlord, caused the fire. So the rent reduction was revoked.

Jonas Equities, Inc.: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. QJ210015RP (5/27/04) [2-pg. doc.]