Adjoining Buildings Weren't Horizontal Multiple Dwelling

Tenants in a two-apartment building claimed that they were rent stabilized and asked the DHCR to investigate and to rule in their favor. Tenants claimed that their building was part of a large horizontal multiple dwelling (HMD) with adjoining buildings and that, together, the buildings contained six apartments.

The DRA ruled against tenants, who appealed and lost. The DHCR's inspector found that there were two separate mixed-use buildings with six different addresses. The two buildings had a history of common ownership going back to at least the early 1970s under a single deed and mortgage, and were registered with HPD under a single address with a single MDR number. Structurally, there were three residential buildings adjoining each other on 45th Avenue, and they were attached at their back to the rear of commercial buildings that fronted Queens Boulevard. There was a single water main and sewer pipe into all buildings, and all electric meters and gas meters for the residential units and commercial units were located on the rear wall of one of the commercial buildings.

However, the two buildings were registered separately with DOB and with DOF, each having different property assessments and different property tax billings. There was no shared central heating system. There were separate lighting/electric systems for each building, all of the residential apartments had their own bell, and each had separate mailboxes. There was no noted degree of interconnectedness or passageways between the two buildings, and each building had a separate entrance. The roof heights of the two buildings weren't uniform and each facade was distinct. Since the majority of building systems were separate and predominated over the common elements, the buildings weren't a HMD.

Piazzola: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. EW110028RT (5/18/17) [6-pg. doc.]