Matter of Pastreich v. New York State Div. of Hous. & Community Renewal

In Matter of Pastreich v. New York State Div. of Hous. & Community Renewal, 50 AD3d 384 [1st Dept 2008] a rent-stabilized tenant filed an overcharge complaint with DHCR in 2004, which denied the complaint without a hearing. DHCR ruled that the tenant's lease, indicating a preferential rent, could not be considered because it was entered prior to the base date, more than four years prior to the filing of the rent overcharge complaint. The Appellate Division ruled that, because the tenant's most recent renewal expressly stated that it was "based on the same terms and conditions as the expiring lease, and further attached lawful provisions and attached written agreements, if any," the 1991 preferential lease rider "was incorporated into the most recent lease renewal, and was not barred from consideration by the four year limitation period" (Matter of Pastreich, 50 AD3d at 386).