9 NYCRR 2526.7

Determination of legal regulated rents; penalties; fines; assessment of costs; attorney’s fees; rent

credits; where the proceeding is commenced on or after June 14, 2019.

reliable annual rent registration statement, filed and served upon a tenant six or more years prior to the

filing of a complaint of overcharge or the initiation of a proceeding to determine the legal regulated rent

of an apartment. Any registration statement filed contemporaneously with a certification of service shall

be presumed to have been served upon the tenant in occupancy. In no event shall the base date be prior

to June 14, 2015.

Absent an exception set forth in section 2526.1 of this Part, if no base date can be determined

subsequent to June 14, 2015, the base date shall be June 14, 2015.

the filing of such registration statement, and subsequent to June 14, 2015, the rent history contains no

unexplained increases in the rent.

the reliability of a rent registration statement, including but not limited to:

or any other state, municipal or federal agency, regardless of the date to which the information on such

registration refers;

on the base date.

determination as to:

evidence including, but not limited to, whether an unexplained increase in the registered or lease rents,

or a fraudulent scheme to destabilize the housing accommodation, rendered such rent or registration

unreliable.

law;

but not limited to an order issued pursuant to section 2523.4(a) of this title, or any regulatory agreement

or other contract with any governmental agency, and remaining in effect within six years of the filing of

a complaint pursuant to this section, affects or limits the amount of rent that may be charged or

collected;

or prior tenant was lawful;

during a period when the tenants were charged a preferential rent;

or

date six years prior to a tenant’s complaint.

registration statements. Provided that increases in the legal regulated rent were lawful except for the failure to

file a timely registration, the owner, upon the service and filing of a late registration, shall not be found to have

collected an overcharge at any time prior to the filing of the late registration.

(h)

proceeding or an opportunity to join in any proceeding commenced by the DHCR pursuant to this

section.

DHCR continues the proceeding, the DHCR shall give any affected tenant notice of and an opportunity

to commence a subsequent proceeding or an opportunity to join in such proceeding.

any rent or other consideration in excess of the collectable rent shall be ordered to pay to the tenant a

penalty equal to three times the amount of such excess, except as provided under subdivision (f) of this

section. If the owner establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the overcharge was not willful,

the DHCR shall establish the penalty as the amount of the overcharge plus interest, which interest shall

accrue from the date of the first overcharge on or after the base date, at the rate of interest payable on a

judgment pursuant to section 5004 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, and the order shall direct such a

payment to be made to the tenant.

to the six years preceding the complaint, provided, however, that there shall be no recovery of treble

damages for overcharges that occurred prior to June 15, 2017, and no recovery of damages for

overcharges that occurred prior to June 15, 2015. After a complaint of rent overcharge has been filed

and served on an owner, the voluntary adjustment of the rent and/or the voluntary tender of a refund of

rent overcharges shall not be considered by the division of housing and community renewal as evidence

that the overcharge was not willful.

to April 1, 1984.

(4)

(i)Complaints filed prior to April 1, 1984 shall be determined in accordance with the RSL and

Code provisions in effect on March 31, 1984, except that an overcharge collected on or after

April 1, 1984 may be subject to treble damages pursuant to this section.

(ii)Complaints filed on or after April 1, 1984 and prior to June 14, 2019 shall be determined

pursuant to 9 NYCRR § 2526.1.

have been overcharged during their particular occupancy of a housing accommodation, and at its

discretion, may require the owner to make diligent efforts to locate prior tenants who are not parties to

the proceeding, and to make refunds to such tenants or pay the amount of such penalty as a fine.

additional penalty the reasonable costs and attorney's fees of the proceeding, and except where treble

damages are awarded, interest from the date of the overcharge occurring on or after April 1, 1984, at the

rate of interest payable on a judgment pursuant to section 5004 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.

rent due to the present owner at a rate not in excess of 20 percent of the amount of the penalty for any

one month's rent. If no such rent credit has been taken, the order of the DHCR awarding penalties may

be entered, filed and enforced by a tenant in the same manner as a judgment of the Supreme Court, on a

form prescribed by the DHCR, provided that the amount of the penalty exceeds $1,000 or the tenant is

no longer in possession. Neither of these remedies are available until the expiration of the period in

which the owner may institute a proceeding pursuant to Part 2530 of this Title.

(i). For overcharges collected prior to April 1, 1984, an owner will be held responsible only for his or

her portion of the overcharges, in the absence of collusion or any relationship between such owner and

any prior owners.

(ii).

owner shall be responsible for all overcharge penalties, including penalties based upon

overcharges collected by any prior owner. However, in the absence of collusion or any

relationship between such owner and any prior owner, where no records sufficient to establish

the legal regulated rent were provided at a judicial sale, or such other sale effected in connection

with, or to resolve, in whole or in part, a bankruptcy proceeding, mortgage foreclosure action or

other judicial proceeding, an owner who purchases upon or subsequent to such sale shall not be

liable for overcharges collected by any owner prior to such sale, and treble damages upon

overcharges that he or she collects which result from overcharges collected by any owner prior to

such sale. An owner who did not purchase at such sale, but who purchased subsequent to such

sale, shall also not be liable for overcharges collected by any prior owner subsequent to such sale

to the extent that such overcharges are the result of overcharges collected prior to such sale.

to receive rent for the use or occupation of a housing accommodation shall not, in the absence of

collusion or any relationship between such receiver and any owner or other receiver, be liable for

overcharges collected by any owner or other receiver, and treble damages upon overcharges that

he or she collects which result from overcharges collected by any owner or other receiver, where

records sufficient to establish the legal regulated rent have not been made available to such

receiver. Penalties pursuant to this paragraph shall be subject to the time limitations set forth in

paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

overcharge.

manner set forth in Section 2522.6 of this title.