Omission of Legal Rent Amount in Renewal Lease Didn't Prevent Willful Overcharge Finding

Rent-stabilized tenant complained to the DHCR of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled for tenant and ordered landlord to refund a total of $137.94, including triple damages. Landlord had previously listed both a legal regulated rent and preferential rent in tenant's lease. But in the 2017 renewal, landlord omitted the legal rent and listed only the preferential rent. This resulted in an overcharge of $4.18 per month for 11 months.

Landlord appealed and lost, arguing that it hadn't waived the legal rent since the 2017 renewal lease omission was simply a typographical error. The DHCR disagreed. Under RSC Section 2521.2, landlord was responsible for maintaining the legal regulated rent in each lease in which a lower preferential rent was charged. And failure to state the legal regulated rent in any subsequent renewal lease results in waiver of the legal rent. And, this wasn't a hyper-technical error, so the DRA correctly applied triple damages.

108 East Clarke Place, LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. NM610001RK (5/27/25)[2-pg. document]