Effective Date of Rent Cut Made Later

(Decision submitted by Patrick K. Munson of the Manhattan law firm of Kucker Kraus & Bruh, attorneys for the landlord.) Tenants complained of reduced building-wide services. The DHCR ruled for tenants, and landlord appealed. An inspection was made three years after tenants' complaint was filed. Landlord claimed it was, therefore, irrational for the DHCR to impose retroactive rent cuts dating back to one month after tenants filed their complaint. The court noted that a prior inspection, made one year after tenants' complaint, didn't show some of the conditions found in the later inspection. So, reducing tenants' rents retroactively by three years was unfair to landlord. The court ruled that the effective date of the rent cuts should be the date of the first inspection, rather than the month after the complaint was filed.

Pindus v. DHCR: Index No. 35981/92 (5/13/93) (Sup. Ct. Kings; Shaw, J) [15-page document]