Legal Rent Established by Amount Paid, Not Registered Rents

Rent-stabilized tenant complained of a rent overcharge. The DRA ruled for tenant and ordered landlord to refund $1,950, including triple damages. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that the base date rent was $1,216, not $957. Landlord relied on its rent ledgers, DHCR apartment registration forms, and a prior DHCR order to support its claim. But landlord’s ledgers show that landlord accepted $957 per month from tenant between February 2004 and July 2007. And landlord didn’t sue tenant for nonpayment of any additional rent amount. The rent registrations don’t establish the base date rent since they were filed by landlord and reflect only the rent as of April 1 of each year. And landlord can’t rely on the prior DHCR order because it was issued more than four years before tenant filed his complaint.

Soufer Family LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. XF410017RO (2/16/10) [2-pg. doc.]