You are here: / / Administrative Review of a Rent Overcharge Petition Should Have Been Granted;...
, ,

Administrative Review of a Rent Overcharge Petition Should Have Been Granted; Allegations of Fraud Overcame Four-Year Statute of Limitations

The First Department, over a dissent, reversed Supreme Court’s dismissal of an Article 78 petition for administrative review of the denial of petitioner’s rent overcharge complaint by the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR).  Petitioner’s rent was increased from $572 to $1750 a month.  To justify that adjustment, the landlord was required to have spent $39,000 improving the apartment.  Petitioner submitted evidence that supported her position the landlord spent very little on the improvements.  The landlord, however, produced no evidence of what was actually spent and, therefore, there was no basis in the record for the DHCR’s determination that the $1750 rental amount was justified.  The First Department noted that the four-year statute of limitations did not apply because there was substantial evidence of fraud:

Under the standard set forth in Matter of Grimm v State of N.Y. Div. of Hous. & Community Renewal Off. of Rent Admin. (15 NY3d 358 [2010]), petitioner made a sufficient showing of fraud to require DHCR to investigate the legality of the base date rent … . Although the “look-back” for an apartment’s rental history is ordinarily limited to the four-year period preceding the date that the petitioner files the complaint …, where fraud is alleged and there is “substantial indicia of fraud on the record,” DHCR is obliged to investigate whether the base date rate was legal and “act[s] arbitrarily and capriciously in failing to meet that obligation”… .

Thus, we find that DHCR’s disparate treatment of the parties’ claims was arbitrary. While the agency made no attempt to evaluate the legitimacy of petitioner’s claims despite their consistency and degree of detail, DHCR credited the owner’s implicit claim that it spent $39,000 to renovate the apartment simply because “it would not be difficult for anyone with any experience in this industry to believe it could have taken $39,000 … to update the appearance and equipment in an apartment which had not changed hands for thirty-two years.” This justification for the agency’s determination is irrational. Finding that the owner “could have” spent $39,000 …, where the owner never submitted any evidence controverting petitioner’s claims is not equivalent to finding that the owner actually made improvements costing that much. Accordingly, this matter should be remanded to DHCR to give the parties the opportunity to present evidence in connection with the legality of the base rate rent. Matter of Boyd v NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal…, 2013 NY Slip Op 06966, 1st Dept 10-29-13

 

 

You might also like
DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE WHEN THE STAIRWAY HAD LAST BEEN CLEANED OR INSPECTED IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE; DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT). ​
ALTHOUGH THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN BROTHER AND SISTER TO SHARE MOTHER’S ESTATE WAS NOT ENFORCEABLE UNDER THE STATUTE OF FRAUDS, THE COMPLAINT STATED CAUSES OF ACTION FOR PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL AND A CONSTRUCTIVE TRUST (FIRST DEPT).
PLAINTIFF-RELATOR BROUGHT A QUI TAM ACTION (ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT) AGAINST A BANK ALLEGING VIOLATION OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW; THE QUI TAM ACTION WAS DISMISSED FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM; EVEN THOUGH THE CITY SETTLED WITH THE BANK IN A RELATED ACTION, PLAINTIFF-RELATOR WAS NOT ENTITLED TO A PERCENTAGE OF THE SETTLEMENT (FIRST DEPT).
WIFE ENTITLED TO A PERCENTAGE OF HUSBAND’S ENHANCED EARNING CAPACITY BY ENABLING HUSBAND’S LONG WORKING HOURS AND HIS STUDY FOR MEDICAL BOARD EXAMS.
AFTER THE DISCHARGE OF A JUROR FOR MISCONDUCT, THE TRIAL COURT PROPERLY REPLACED THE JUROR WITH AN ALTERNATE WHO HAD BEEN EXCUSED AND SENT HOME; THERE WAS A DISSENT (FIRST DEPT).
PLAINTIFF’S DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION CAUSES OF ACTION UNDER THE STATE AND CITY HUMAN RIGHTS LAW PROPERLY SURVIVED SUMMARY JUDGMENT; THE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS OF THE STATE VERSUS CITY HUMAN RIGHTS LAW IN THIS CONTEXT EXPLAINED IN SOME DEPTH (FIRST DEPT).
ACTION BY PLAINTIFF’S SUBROGEE (INSURER) AGAINST DEFENDANT’S SUBROGEE (INSURER) IN THIS CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT CASE BARRED BY COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL AND RES JUDICATA, CONCEPTS OF SUBROGATION AND PRIVITY EXPLAINED.
INTRA- OR INTER- AGENCY EXEMPTION TO DISCLOSURE UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW (FOIL) DID NOT EXTEND TO COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN MAYOR DE BLASIO’S OFFICE AND A CONSULTANT RETAINED BY A PRIVATE ORGANIZATION (AS OPPOSED TO A CONSULTANT HIRED BY A GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY), PREVAILING PARTIES ENTITLED TO ATTORNEY’S FEES (FIRST DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Question of Fact Re: Implied Easement for Pipeline to Pond In Court Stipulation Was Valid Postnuptial Agreement; DRL 236(B)(3) Did Not...