Rent Overcharge complaint

[brosco]

Hi,

I filed a rent overcharge complaint with DHCR, claiming that LL did not spend over 40K on renovating my apartment just to bring up the rent to market value.
I got a response back from LL, where they provided invoices; cleared checks; etc... the invoice show one amount, but the checks show for work done in total. Example, one of the invoice amount is 2K, check amount is 20K.

By law, what else should a LL provide as a proof that this much was spent. Should the LL also provide the lease from previous tenant, going 4 years back from the time I filed the complaint? For example, if I filed January 2014, the LL should provide the lease for January 2010. Please advise.

Thank you in advance.

[TenantNet]

Have you ever used one check to cover several invoices? It's possible it might be legit, but in such cases, you should be able to add up the various invoices to come up with the total amount due, and therefore the amount of the check. Look to see if the LL and contractor had a contract and look at the terms of payment.Some agreements call for a certain percentage due at the start, so much at a mid-point and so much at the end.

LL should provide both sides of a cancelled check as proof pf payment, along with invoices and contract or agreement. For smaller jobs there might not be a contract.

There is no "list" per se of items the LL must provide, but it behooves the LL to submit as much as necessary to prove his side. If not, then you should argue to DHCR that the information is insufficient.

[brosco]

Thank you for your prompt reply. However, perhaps I didn't phrase the question correctly.
Please advise on the following question:
If the LL did not provide a lease establishing rent 4 years prior to my complaint, (instead providing previous tenants last lease which began 2 years prior to my complaint) should the order finding rent overcharge be for the amount that the previous tenant paid 4 years prior to my complaint? And disregard all other invoices for apartment improvements submitted by LL.

From what I learned from looking at other overcharge orders, the LL must provide a lease establishing the rent on base date (4 years prior to the filing of overcharge complaint).

And if such is not provided, DHCR issues an order finding rent overcharge establishing a rent which was in effect 4 years prior to the filing to the complaint, disregarding all other information and invoice provide by LL.

Is this still the law, or was it changed?

Thank you in advance.

[brosco]

OK, back to this topic.

So DHCR finally issued an order on my Rent Overcharge complaint. Basically they ordered landlord to return me back 2 month rent.
Question: If i don't agree with such decision (expected much more) and decide to file a PAR, and in a worst case will be denied, will DHCR original order get changed?

Please advice.
Thanks.

[TenantNet]

DHCR can uphold the original order or change it, for the better or worse.