After the DHCR dismissed tenant's rent overcharge complaint based on the four-year rule, tenant appealed. She claimed that landlord had committed fraud and that the DHCR therefore should look back more than four years. New York's highest court ruled for tenant, finding that the DHCR had an obligation to determine whether the base date rent was lawful since there were substantial indications of fraud. The case was sent back to the DHCR to examine the prior rental history for the limited purpose of determining whether a fraudulent scheme to destabilize the apartment tainted the reliability of the base date rent. The DHCR then revoked its prior ruling and sent the case back to the DRA for further processing and a new determination.
Grimm: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. ZD410010RP (8/22/11) [2-pg. doc.]
