Apartment Occupied by Super on Dec. 31, 1973

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. Landlord claimed that tenant's apartment was vacant when he bought the building and that it had been occupied by the building superintendent for 25 years. Therefore when the apartment was rented to tenant in 1983, $450 was the fair market rent. The DRA ruled for tenant, finding that landlord defaulted and that tenant's lawful stabilized rent in 1983 was $378.15. Landlord appealed, pointing out that he'd submitted a sworn statement of prior landlord. Her husband's uncle had lived in the apartment as the building superintendent without paying rent from 1959 until 1983. The DHCR ruled for landlord. Because the apartment was occupied by the super on Dec. 31, 1973, it wasn't subject to rent control on that date. And since the apartment wasn't rent-controlled on that date, the first stabilized rent thereafter wasn't subject to a fair market rent appeal. So the initial rent tenant paid wasn't an overcharge.

Nagy: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. FK 110356-RO (8/11/95) [5-page document]