Was Charge for A/C Improper Electricity Surcharge?

Landlord sued to evict tenant for creating a nuisance. In response, tenant claimed rent overcharge based on the collection of air conditioner surcharges after the building’s electricity was submetered. Landlord eventually dropped the nuisance claim. The court ruled for tenant on the overcharge claim and ordered landlord to refund $5,400, representing $100 per month for 54 months in rent overcharges. Tenant and landlord both appealed.

The appeals court revoked the overcharge finding and said that the DHCR should decide the claim. When tenant moved into the building in 1976, it was a master-metered electrical inclusion building. Landlord installed five air conditioners in the apartment and charged tenant an additional $100 per month for the use of the air conditioners. The charge became part of tenant’s legal regulated rent. In 2008, the DHCR granted landlord’s request to submeter electricity so that tenants paid directly for their own electricity. The DHCR order stated that landlord could no longer collect previously authorized appliance charges to offset the cost of electricity for operating appliances that consumed large quantities of electricity. Landlord reduced tenant’s rent by $60 per month in accordance with the DHCR’s order but claimed that no further rent reduction was required because the charge for the air conditioning units was part of tenant’s rent and not part of an electricity charge. Landlord had charged tenant $20 per month for each of the five air conditioners upon installation and claimed that this charge was for the installation and maintenance of the air conditioner units, not the electricity. The appeals court found that it didn’t have the expertise to decide how much of the monthly air conditioner charge was for electricity and deferred to the DHCR to decide the question.

Parker Yellowstone, LP v. Chetrick: 47 Misc.3d 144(A), 2015 NY Slip Op 50691(U) (App. T. 2 Dept.; 5/1/15; Aliotta, JP, Solomon, Elliot, JJ)