Landlord Can't Collect Telephone Charges

The DHCR reclassified a formerly hotel-stabilized residential hotel to a rent-stabilized building and adjusted rents accordingly. Among other things, a telephone charge was included in tenants' base rents. Tenants appealed. Landlord claimed it could charge tenants for the switchboard phone line, which it was still required to maintain, even though many tenants now used their own private phone lines. The DHCR ruled for tenants and revoked the rent increase for the telephone charge. There was no charge for such service on the April 1, 1980, base date, and it was improperly added to the base rents upon reclassification of the building.

Broadway Bretton, Inc.: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. JL440013RP (6/7/96) [8-page document]