Tenant's Garage Rent Not Subject to Rent Control

Rent-controlled tenant complained of specific rent overcharge, based on increases to her garage parking charges. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding that the building parking space was an ancillary service only for rent-stabilized tenants, and garage parking wasn't a registered base-date service for tenant's rent-controlled apartment. This issue also had been settled in a prior 2019 DHCR decision.

Tenant appealed and lost. Based on the prior ruling, parking wasn't a base date ancillary service for tenant. The DHCR also consistently dismissed a similar complaint for another rent-controlled tenant in the building. And the garage space at the building was operated by an independent garage parking company, not by the landlord. Tenant paid garage rent directly to the garage operator. So any garage fees weren't included in rent collected by landlord for a required ancillary service.

Santora-McCaffrey: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. IN620010RT (8/11/20) [3-pg. doc.]