Triple Damages Applied to Willful Rent Overcharge
LVT Number: #25542
Rent-stabilized tenant sued landlord for rent overcharge. The court ruled for tenant but denied tenant's request for triple damages. Tenant appealed and won. Landlord made no effort to rebut the presumption of willfulness imposed by Rent Stabilization Law Section 26-516(a) after overcharging tenant for 30 months. Landlord in fact continued to overcharge tenant after a prior court order had determined the correct legal rent. The case was sent back to the trial court for calculation of triple damages.
Delaj v. Bronx Park East Housing, Inc.: 985 N.Y.S.2d 562, 2014 NY Slip Op 03598 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 5/15/14; Mazzarelli, JP, Andrias, DeGrasse, Manzanet-Daniels, Feinman, JJ)