Invoice Wasn't for Tenant's Apartment

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. The DRA ruled for tenant and ordered landlord to refund $3,600, including triple damages. Landlord appealed, claiming that the DRA incorrectly disallowed the cost of apartment improvements made before tenant moved in. The DHCR ruled against landlord. Landlord's documentation of apartment renovations identified a different apartment number. Landlord explained that its supplier incorrectly listed the apartment as number 3E. The apartment number was 3AS, and all apartments in the building were marked either ''S'' (south) or ''N'' (north). But landlord only explained this for the first time in its PAR. The DHCR couldn't consider new evidence on appeal. And landlord's annual rent registrations listed some units that didn't include ''S'' or ''N'' in the apartment numbers.

Feggoudakis: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. TF110009RO (8/11/05) [3-pg. doc.]