Apartment Subject to Deregulation After J-51 Benefits Expire

Landlord applied for high-rent/high-income deregulation of tenant's rent-stabilized apartment in 2011. Tenants' monthly rent was over $2,000 per month. Tenants claimed that, because the building had received J-51 tax benefits, their apartment was ineligible for luxury deregulation. The DRA ruled for landlord, finding that tenants' annual household income exceeded $175,000 in both 2009 and 2010. Tenants appealed and lost. Because the building would have been subject to rent stabilization even without receipt of the J-51 benefits, the apartment continued to be subject to rent stabilization after J-51 expired as if the J-51 benefits had never been received. And, because the building was otherwise rent stabilized, it didn't matter whether landlord had included J-51 notification riders in each of tenants' leases. 

Bramwell: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. CT410019RT (2/4/15) [8-pg. doc.]