Apartment Deregulated in High-Rent/High-Income Proceeding

Landlord applied in 2007 for high-rent/high-income deregulation of tenants' rent-stabilized apartment. Landlord claimed that tenants admitted on the Income Certification Form that their total annual household income was more than $175,000 in both 2005 and 2006. The DRA ruled for landlord, directing that the apartment be deregulated at the expiration of tenants' current lease. Tenants appealed and lost. They claimed that their monthly rent was more than $2,000 in 2007 only because of two MCI rent hikes that had been granted but which were under appeal. Tenants argued that, under those circumstances, the DHCR should have waited until the MCI issue was finally decided. The DHCR noted that, after all appeals were completed, the MCI increases were largely upheld and tenants' legal rent still was over $2,000 on the applicable date. And tenants didn't deny that their income was above the deregulation threshold.

Albright & Pillette: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. WK410002RK (12/2/13) [4-pg. doc.]