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statute of 4 yrs

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statute of 4 yrs

Postby APTHELP » Thu Feb 21, 2008 4:38 pm

I have been in an apt for 6 yrs. Now my landlord says he wont renew my lease ending on mar 31 but I was a great tenant and he will give me a landlord reference letter.I do not want to move at all.
When I moved in he had me sign some typed up rider paragraph that said I wasnt rent stabilized. However the DHRC sent me a rent history saying I was.
But the big thing is he hasnt registered my apt in the past 4 yrs.
My first yr my legal rent was 1400, but my second yr he listed legal rent as 2380! That was clearly not the case bc I was in the apt and nothing was done to it. I want to stay in my apt but am worried since the last legal rent was 2380 (although it was a lie) that he will be able to demand I pay for it since it is outside of 4 yrs. Can the illegal entered rent no longer be challanged? But then again there are no records for the last 4 yrs on file w DHRC.Also the whole rent history of my apt is fraudulent. All increases were never legal.What do u think? Im trying to get a tenant lawyer to speak w but having a hard time.
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Landlord's Boy

Postby Landlord's Boy » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:40 pm

Did you move in before or after April 1st?
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Postby APTHELP » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:58 pm

I moved in on Mar 1, 2002 for 1350, but then 17 days later he told me he wanted more for my dog and made me sign another lease dated April 1, 2002 for 1400. He registered the 1400 rent, but I do have both leases.
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Postby APTHELP » Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:03 pm

Im concerned on what my rent "could be" if I fight to stay in the apt. Im worried they wont see how the last legal rents all registered before 4 yrs back were calculated fraudulently and then Ill have spent the money I have on a lawyer and I wont be abke to afford the new rent. And if theyd look back 6 yrs theyd see I never got the correct type of lease. I never had a rent stabilized lease ever. Im scared the landlord knows that I cant win and that is why he let 4yrs unregistering the apt pass. Does anyone know if he HAS to register every yr?
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Postby NYHawk » Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:17 pm

the 4 year SOL only applies to rent overcharges. There is no SOL concerning the issue of the rent stabilized status of the apartment. The rider statement that your apartment is not RS is not legally binding because a tenant cannot waiver any rights under RS and because a LL and a tenant cannot agree that an apartment is or is not RS. It either is or is not based on the law.

Your story is little confusing. Seems like what you paid is not how the LL registered the rent with DHCR. Smells like fraud.

You should run all of this by a tenant attorney. Good luck.
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Postby TenantNet » Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:16 am

Sounds like you're a good bit confused on all this. Here you say the rent in 2003 was $1400, but in another thread you say it was $2380. If you are RS, it's based on the law and DHCR, not what the LL says. You really need a full review of your lease, the rents you've paid through the years, any renewal leases you've signed and so on. Get together all your documents and prepare a month-by-month list of what the LL has charged you and what you've paid. No one can analyze any of this until you've gathered it all together and organized it.

You might benefit from a consultation by a tenant attorney. But you should do all the prep work first. There are a number of tenant attorneys and tenant law firms that advertise here. On the top of each page you'll see advertising banners. Another option would be to take the material to a legal clinic. If the LL wants you out, he has to make his case and probably would need to take you to court. If you have a legal basis to stay, you should discover that before the LL hauls you into court.
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clarification

Postby APTHELP » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:29 pm

In 2001 the woman before me was RS 1619 and paid pref 1500.
In 2002 I moved in and registered rent was RS 1400, and I paid 1400.
In 2003 registered rent was RS 2380, and I paid pref 1550.
Im having a hard time bc the past 4 yrs, my apt was not registered at all.
Ive spoken to lawyers who have said they dont know what my chances are of renewing and at what rent amount, bc the court only looks 4 yrs back. My apt was never deregulated w the DHCR. It is as though the landlord was waiting for this 4 yr period to pass so that the last definitely illegal rent registered for 2380 could not be questioned. But since I was not deregulated, I am RS, but then I have no 4 yr history since I havent been listed! My landlord is sooo shady. Since 1984 when the rent history starts, all the increases have been raised over the allowed percentages.
Do you have any thoughts on whether in this extreme case the DHCR would look back more than four years?
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Postby TenantNet » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:45 pm

As Nyhawk said, the 4 year SOL is for overcharges, not for the RS status. Even if the rent is above $2,000, it remains RS until you vacate (unless deregulated for other issues, such as high income) and the LL must offer a renewal.
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preferential rent

Postby APTHELP » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:55 pm

Thanks so much for everyones help. I have one last question.
Im trying to do some reading on preferential rent. If DHCR wont look at the rent history to see that in 2003, 2380 was an impossible inc in rent, how should have my rent have increased after the preferential rent was given to me of 1550 in 2003.
I am pretty sure my LL never dergegulated my apt, bc then the DHCR wouldve known that his calculations to get to the amount of $2380 were incorrect, so does that mean the new laws of 2003 stating a LL can go back to the past maximum registered rent not apply, according to chapter 82?
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Postby Landlord's Boy » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:50 pm

Sounds like the LL really screwed up his paperwork. He's not necessarily "shady", but definitely lacks competence in this area. However, if he does straighten it out - as he would have to if taken to court - the final determination could well be that your apt is a deregulated unit. So don't do anything further without consulting a lawyer first to see if going to court or pursuing the DHCR angle is really in your best interests.
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SOL Question

Postby luckyredpr » Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:31 pm

I was under the impression that a Manhattan Judge had handed down a decision vacated the SOL of 4 years in a case because of Fraud. I read part of a decision in which he stated that the SOL was to protect Landlords from having to maintain too much paperwork but not to prevent them from committing fraud. I'm actually trying to find a copy of this decision as I read a copy one of my neighbors had and she's in Europe now.

The reason I bring up the issue of Fraud is because it sounds as if your Landlord inflated the rent fraudulently as opposed to just miscalculating it. When there is fraud involved in ongoing payments, often the SOL does not apply to the first incident or first time the victim became aware of it but to the last payment made in the fraudulent amount. This is because some courts consider this an ongoing fraud. However, perhaps the decision I read has been overturned so it may not apply.

Does anybody have information on this? If you have any case numbers that would be great as well.

Good luck with your situation.
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