LANDLORD WINS

No Rent Overcharge for Collection of HVAC Surcharges

January 23, 2015    

(Decision submitted by Steven H. Cohen of the Manhattan law firm of Borah, Goldstein, Altschuler, Nahins & Goidel, P.C., attorneys for the landlord.)

No Proof of Fraud in Overcharge Case

January 23, 2015    

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. She paid $900 per month under a vacancy lease in 2002. Tenant complained in 2013 aft her rent increased to $1,334. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding no...

No Proof of Fraud in Prior Rent Increase

January 23, 2015    

Tenant complained of rent overcharge in 2013. The DRA dismissed the complaint because tenant's rent was $2,100 per month in 2009, four years before tenant's complaint was filed. The apartment therefore was...

Failure to Calculate Rent in Vacancy Lease Rider Didn't Create Rent Overcharge

December 23, 2014    

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant and dismissed his complaint. Tenant appealed and lost. The base rent date was Oct. 14, 2006, four years before tenant filed his...

Landlord Proves Cost of Individual Apartment Improvements

December 23, 2014    

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant, who appealed and lost. Tenant argued that, while landlord claimed that it made individual apartment improvements (IAIs) before...

No Fraud Where Prior Rent Set by Court Settlement

December 23, 2014    

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding no overcharge. Tenant appealed and lost. The base rent date for tenant's complaint was Jan. 29, 2006, four years before...

Rent Restored After Landlord Carpets Floors

December 23, 2014    

The DRA granted landlord's application for rent restoration following the issuance of a rent reduction order. Tenant appealed, claiming that services hadn't been restored. Landlord had covered the floors in...

First Rent Charged to Tenant in 421-a Building Was Approved by HPD

December 22, 2014    

Tenant complained of rent overcharge. Tenant was subject to rent stabilization because the building received 421-a tax benefits. Tenant, the first tenant of the apartment after construction, signed a lease for...

No Overcharge to First Tenant After Base Date Vacancy

December 22, 2014    

Tenant complained that his deregulated apartment was in fact rent stabilized and that he had been overcharged. The DRA ruled for tenant in part and found that: (1) the apartment was rent stabilized; (2) it was vacant...

Failure to File Rent Registrations Before Base Rent Date Didn't Prove Fraud

December 22, 2014    

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding no overcharge. Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant moved into the apartment in 1996 and filed his overcharge complaint on July...

Four-Year Rule Applied Where No Indication of Fraud

December 22, 2014    

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding no overcharge. Tenant appealed and lost. The base rent date was March 29, 2009, four years before tenant's complaint was...

No Fraud Where Landlord Charged Same Rent After Combining Apartments

December 22, 2014    

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding no overcharge. Tenant appealed and lost. The base rent date for tenant's complaint was June 1, 2005. At that time, prior...