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OWNER'S PAR CLOSED DUE TO REMAND

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

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OWNER'S PAR CLOSED DUE TO REMAND

Postby Cazmia » Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:13 pm

Hmmm...I was granted a fairly sizable rent overcharge by DHCR last year. Naturally, the owner filed a PAR. I've been keeping an eye on the status of it, because it has stayed on "actively being processed" for about a month or two.

A few days ago, DHCR closed the owner's PAR with the reason "Closed due to remand"; DHCR also opened a new proceeding, but the new proceeding is already down as "Final Processing", even though it was only just opened the day the PAR was closed.

Now, I can tell you, I felt the landlord's lawyer's argument on the PAR was very weak. I could have filed a PAR disputing the amount of overcharge, because I read some legal precedents that supported me fighting for an even larger overcharge amount, but was willing to leave it alone with the overcharge that DHCR saw fit.

However, when the owner filed the PAR disputing the rent overcharge, I decided to put forth those legal arguments, since he had opened the door to further dispute my lawful rent. (We had been disputing the regulatory status for 6 years, so the overcharge also established my legal rent).

I felt my arguments were very strong, but I am never arrogant about the way things could go.

My question is, what could it mean that they remanded the owner's PAR before they even making a final decision on it?

If it were granted in the landlord's favor, wouldn't they have just said "Granted" on the PAR, instead of closing it and remanding? Alternatively, wouldn't it have said the PAR was "denied" if DHCR found that I was due the overcharge?

I ask this, because my rebuttal to the owner's PAR didn't only state reasons why the owner's PAR should be denied; It also invited DHCR to "re-assess" my legal rent all the way back to the 1940's, due to the owner's failure to ever register the building as rent stabilized or provide the first stabilized tenant after rent control a DC-2 notifying them of their rights.

It sounds like a "far leap", but I actually found a case, "Rafika Realty Corp. v. Davis", to support my argument. I tried to support every thing I said with applicable laws and precedents.

However, a clerk at DHCR that I spoke to via phone one afternoon, said the agency would not reconsider my rent, because I wasn't the one who filed the PAR. Since the owner did, they would only address his contentions about the overcharge.

I'm beside myself wondering what the remand means.. Has anyone ever seen a PAR closed for remand?
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Re: OWNER'S PAR CLOSED DUE TO REMAND

Postby TenantNet » Mon Jun 17, 2019 5:45 pm

If actively being processed, that's better than initial processing, where it can linger for years.

I've never seen a "Closed due to remand" on a PAR. Often PARs get appealed to NYS Supreme Court in an Article 78 proceeding, then the court will remand it back to the agency. A remand usually has the "-RP" suffix.

But a PAR being remanded? Haven't seen it.

However, this does sound like bad news. If you think DHCR is clean, this sounds like what they often do ... pander to some highly-connected landlord. That I have seen many times.

I would ASAP file a FOIL request so you can see what is going on (and perhaps stop the processing for a while). Also in the FOIL, ask to see the Progress Sheet of the PAR and the Remand proceeding, and make sure you add "I need to see the Progress Sheet in order to prepare my response." They will often try to hide the progress sheet from people viewing the files so you can't see what they are doing.

Also I would write DHCR that whatever they do, they have to abide by the new law for all pending cases. They might be trying to get this under the wire (hence the need to see the progress sheet).

If they rule for the LL, then you might be forced to undertake an expensive Article 78 appeal, and believe me, many judges are not that smart.
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