Apartment Deregulated Even Though Landlord Charged Less Than $2,000 per Month

Tenant complained of a rent overcharge. Tenant moved into the apartment in November 2004 at a monthly rent of $1,850. The DRA dismissed tenant's complaint because the apartment was deregulated. Tenant appealed and lost. Before tenant moved in, landlord had made apartment improvements that allowed an increase in the legal rent to over $2,000 per month. Tenant's apartment therefore was deregulated by law when tenant moved in. The fact that landlord charged tenant less than $2,000 didn't make the apartment rent stabilized. Although landlord didn't give tenant a breakdown of how the rent was calculated, and mistakenly registered the apartment as rent stabilized and gave tenant rent-stabilized renewal lease forms, these errors didn't make tenant rent stabilized.

630 West 246th Street: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. WL610049RT (4/10/09) [2-pg. doc.]