Opinion ID: 1193965
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Maximum Rent Adjustment Hearings:

Text: a) Petitions: The Board shall consider an adjustment of rent for an individual rent-controlled unit upon receipt of a petition for adjustment filed by the landlord or tenant of such a unit on a form provided by the Board. No such adjustment shall be granted until after the Board considers the petition at an adjustment hearing. b) Notice: The Board shall notify the landlord, if the petition was filed by the tenant, or the tenant, if the petition was filed by the landlord, of the receipt of such a petition. The Board shall schedule a hearing no earlier than the sixteenth (16th) day after the postmark of the notice of the hearing sent to the parties and shall notify both parties as to the time, date and place of the hearing. Hearings shall be scheduled for times most convenient for all parties, including evenings and weekends. Hearings may be postponed or continued for good cause provided that all parties receive timely notice of such action. c) Records: The Board may require either party to a rent adjustment petition to provide it with all pertinent books, records and papers. Such documents shall be made available to the parties involved at least seven days prior to the hearing at the office of the Rent Control Board. d) Open hearings: All rent adjustment hearings shall be open to the public. e) Right to assistance: All parties to a hearing may have assistance in presenting evidence and developing their position from attorneys, legal workers, tenant union representatives or any other persons designated by said parties. f) Hearing record: The Board shall make available for inspection and copying by any person an official record which shall constitute the exclusive record for decision on the issues at the hearing. The record of the hearing, or any part of one, shall be obtainable for the cost of copying. The record of the hearing shall include: all exhibits, papers and documents required to be filed or accepted into evidence during the proceeding; a list of participants present; a summary of all testimony accepted in the proceeding; a statement of all materials officially noticed; all findings of fact; the ruling on each exception or objection, if any are presented; all recommended decisions, orders or rulings; all final decisions and/or orders; and the reasons for each recommended and each final decision, order or ruling. g) Decisions: The Board shall make a final decision no later than fifteen days after the conclusion of the hearing. No rent adjustment shall be granted unless supported by the preponderance of the evidence submitted at the hearing. All parties to a hearing shall be sent a notice of the Board's decision and a copy of the findings of fact and law upon which said decision is based. At the same time, parties to the proceeding shall also be notified of their right to judicial review of the decision pursuant to Section 9 of this Charter Amendment. h) Consolidation: The Board may consolidate petitions relating to rent-controlled units in the same building with the written consent of a majority of the tenants and all such petitions may be considered in a single hearing. i) Repetition: Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the Board may, without holding a hearing, refuse to adjust a maximum rent level upward for an individual rental unit if a hearing has been held with regard to the rental level of such unit within the prior twelve months. j) Inadequate or false information: If information filed in a petition for rent adjustment or in additional submissions filed at the request of the Board is inadequate or false, no action shall be taken on said petition until the deficiency is remedied.