Tenant's Daughter Was Entitled to Raise Rent Overcharge Claim

Rent-stabilized tenant's daughter complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled for tenant's daughter and ordered landlord to refund $32,695, including interest. Landlord and tenant both appealed and lost. Landlord argued that the daughter didn't have standing to maintain the complaint. But the daughter showed that tenant had died, that she qualified for succession rights, that landlord had given her a renewal lease in her name, and that landlord had accepted rent from her. So the daughter was a successor tenant, and landlord's PAR was dismissed. Tenant argued that triple damages should apply to the overcharge refund. The overcharge resulted from a 26-year-old rent reduction order. But DHCR records showed that the rent was restored in 2014. And, while prior tenant had filed a noncompliance complaint in 1995, she didn't respond to the DHCR's request for additional information. So it was reasonable to assume that the conditions had been corrected by 1995. Landlord also argued that any rent overcharge refund should go to prior tenant's estate, not to tenant's daughter. So landlord reasonably waited to refund any overcharge refund while the case was pending. Tenant also wasn't entitled to attorney's fees because she didn't request them before the DRA.

Dobson/730 Riverside Associates LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket Nos. GO410037RT/GO410032RO (2/1/19) [5-pg. doc.]