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2 Issues with LL

NYC Rent Regulation: Rent Control/Rent Stabilized, DHCR Practice/Procedures

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2 Issues with LL

Postby biggerthanprince » Sat Nov 28, 2015 12:30 am

Hello All...

Issue #1

LL took me to housing court for non-payment case because they claimed I was months behind in rent. Case was discounted the day of count by LL as I did in fact PAY MY RENT. Now, because of all this I ended up paying an extra month because LL won't send correct invoices. Now LL is charging me legal fees for the dropped case. LL refuses to call me or email me back. Any suggestions on how I get them to credit my account and avoid paying the legal fees?

Issue #2

My apt is RS, but did not know this when lease was signed last year. There was no LEASE Rider For Rent Stabilized and broker/LL did not disclosed this fact. I only know this now because of renewal lease form I signed stated apt was RS.

Now, I'm wondering if my LL is overcharging me rent... I contacted the DHCR and received the apt registration going back to 1984. The last reported rent is from 2005. From '06-'14 it states REG NOT FOUND FOR SUBJECT PREMISES. I pay a round number for rent and the last people here moved out right before I moved in. How should I go about investigating what my legal rent should be?

Many THANKS
biggerthanprince
 
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Re: 2 Issues with LL

Postby TenantNet » Sat Nov 28, 2015 11:12 am

No LL can charge legal fees unless ordered by the court. Legal fees can only be sought unless the LL was the prevailing party (he wasn't) and there's a clause in your lease allowing him to do that. The normal clauses allowing LLs to seek fees, generally are written one-way, but the courts allow tenants to seek legal fees (using the same clause) if they had a lawyer and the court issues an order for it.

If you can show you paid an extra month, then withhold the next month in order to equal things out. Make sure you send a certified letter to the LL explaining exactly what you are doing.

In our view, bad account statements can be harassment. But get used to that and get a thick(er) skin.

As for the RS status, one goes to DHCR and gets a copy of the lease history and any/all registrations going back to 1984. Seems you've done that. Seems there was no regisration. That means the rent can't go up until he properly registers the unit for those years. So you can file an overcharge complaint. However DHCR often lets them register late and excape any overcharge. You should also compare all the rents to the allowable RGB rent increases, look for any MCIs and Vacancy increases.
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