investment in the property in the sum of $300,000.00 plus his costs including tax
assessments for his improvements in the property. In addition, Fred Brenner made full
payment of the underlying mortgage between him and the former [*17]owner, the Walben Company, in the sum of $377,200.00
recorded in the County Registry on March 10, 1989 and then payment in satisfaction of
the mortgage to a banking institution which fully satisfied his financial obligation to the
property recorded on May 17, 2002.
For these reasons, the Respondent's assertion has no merit, in fact or at law,
and is contrary to customary commercial and business practices in this state and would
abrogate the rights of the real property owner to derive commercial revenue from this
property.
Additionally, the Respondent argues that the Petitioners are precluded from
using the fixed rent increases prior to August 2007. This argument is also unavailing.
Since this type of claim was likewise rejected by the Courts and the Legislature in
residential rent regulation of private property (rent stabilization and rent control laws and
regulations), certainly, such a claim is definitely not applicable to commercial real
estate.
Briefly, prior to the Rent Regulatory Reform Act of 1997 (RRRA 1997), the
DHCR permitted the examination of rent histories for any period prior to the four years
preceding the filing of a rent overcharge complaint. The RRRA 1997 amended rent
overcharge provisions of the RSL by adding language intended to preclude any
examination of rental histories for any period prior to the four years preceding the filing
of a rent overcharge complaint. (See EPTA §12(a)(1); NYC Admin. Code
§26-516(a)). The amended statute was made applicable to all pending complaints.