DHCR records requests and default overcharge findings
Many large DHCR overcharge awards are not findings about what the rent should have been. They are the result of an owner not producing records DHCR asked for.
How a default finding happens
In an overcharge case DHCR asks the owner for the apartment's leases, rent ledger, and related records for a stated period. If the owner does not respond, or responds without the documents, DHCR decides the case on the record it has: the tenant's submissions and DHCR's own registration data. The resulting legal rent and overcharge can be far from what the actual rent history would support, and treble damages usually follow because the owner has offered nothing to rebut willfulness.
The order in which to fix it
- Produce what was asked for. The request names a date range and document types. Complete, organized production for that range is the most direct answer to a default.
- Then argue the merits. Once the records are in, the argument is about the base date rent, the lawful increases, and the rent actually collected. Making merits arguments without the records rarely works, because DHCR has nothing to check them against.
Read the request closely. DHCR sometimes issues a corrected request that changes the date range or the deadline. Answer the latest one.
When the records belong to a prior owner
New owners are often asked for records from before they bought the building. DHCR generally treats the current owner as responsible for the building's rent history. Request the specific leases and ledgers from the seller in writing, identifying the apartment and the dates. Keep the request and any response. A documented refusal by a prior owner matters when arguing that an overcharge was not willful, even though it does not end the case.
What not to do
- Do not send DHCR a large volume of documents it did not ask for. It slows review and buries the documents that matter.
- Do not let the deadline pass while waiting for a prior owner. Answer on time with what you have, explain what is missing and why, and supplement.
If the order has already issued
The next step is a petition for administrative review, due 35 days from the order's issuance. See PAR petitions.
Have Evan review it
Send DHCR's request, the complaint, and whatever records you have. I will identify exactly what DHCR needs, what is missing, and how to present the gap.
Flat fee, quoted in writing before any work begins. Written memo delivered on a fixed date.