Matter of West Pierre Assoc. LLC v. Harvey, 2025 NY Slip Op 04611 (2025)

Under the HSTPA, the legal regulated rent for the apartment is calculated from "the most recent reliable annual registration statement filed and served upon the tenant six or more years prior to the most recent registration statement," plus any subsequent lawful increases (Administrative Code of the City of NY § 26-516[a][i]). Moreover, the court, "in investigating complaints of overcharge and in determining legal regulated rents, shall consider all available rent history which is reasonably necessary to make such determinations" (Administrative Code § 26-516[h]; see id. ["Nothing contained in this subdivision shall limit the examination of rent history relevant to a determination as to: (i) whether the legality of a rental amount charged or registered is reliable in light of all available 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"]; see also Matter of Syllman v New York State Div. of Hous. and Community Renewal, 233 AD3d 977, 978 [2d Dept 2024]). Here, although the tenant does not assert fraud, she does assert that the 2014 individual apartment improvement increase was not supported and, therefore, that the legal regulated rent set forth in her lease commencing December 1, 2020, was not reliable.