Apartment Was Deregulated by High-Rent Vacancy in 2004

In response to tenant's application for a ruling on his status, the DRA ruled that tenant wasn't subject to rent stabilization. Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant claimed that there were no registration documents on file for his apartment since 1999 and therefore no proof to establish that the apartment's legal rent was over $2,000 per month. But tenant mistakenly relied on records filed by prior landlord that didn't cover the entire building complex. Current landlord registered all rents for the building complex, and showed that the legal regulated rent for tenant's apartment on the Feb. 28, 2003, base date was $1,726.97. This was the 2002 registered rent. The apartment was registered as vacant on April 1, 2003. Landlord was then entitled to a vacancy allowance of either 18 or 20 percent, for either a one- or two-year lease, respectively. This brought the apartment rent over $2,000, which at the time was the high-rent vacancy deregulation threshold. So the apartment was exempt from rent stabilization as of 2004. 

Sutton: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. AU710031RT (6/7/13) [3-pg. doc.]