Rent to Be Decided Based on Default Formula

January 1, 2006

LVT Number: 18584

Tenants sued landlord for a rent overcharge. The court ruled that the legal rent for tenants' apartment should be determined by the DHCR in a fair market rent appeal case. Tenants appealed. The appeals court ruled that not only should the case go to the DHCR but that the initial legal stabilized rent should be set using the default formula applied by the agency. The time for filing a fair market rent appeal had expired in 1996. The base date for setting tenants' legal rent, using the default formula, was January 1997, four years before the start of tenants' court case.

Tenants sued landlord for a rent overcharge. The court ruled that the legal rent for tenants' apartment should be determined by the DHCR in a fair market rent appeal case. Tenants appealed. The appeals court ruled that not only should the case go to the DHCR but that the initial legal stabilized rent should be set using the default formula applied by the agency. The time for filing a fair market rent appeal had expired in 1996. The base date for setting tenants' legal rent, using the default formula, was January 1997, four years before the start of tenants' court case.

Wasserman v. Gordon: NYLJ, 12/15/05, p. 25, col. 1 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Buckley, PJ, Tom, Marlow, Gonzalez, Catterson, JJ)

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