New York City landlords who subject tenants to substandard facilities and inadequate service can find their tenants' rents rolled back by the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal. However, the DHCR doesn't appear to have any way of distinguishing trivial complaints from substantial ones, such as lack of heat or water. Thus, the DHCR ordered rent rollbacks in cases in which a dust ball was found under a radiator in an outside hallway, a scorch mark was found on a kitchen countertop, and a doorman was caught not wearing a hat. In one case, the DHCR ordered a rollback after tenants complained about the heavy iron front door that had been there for fifty years.

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