Decontrol Order Never Issued

Landlord sued tenant and asked the court to declare that tenant's apartment wasn't rent controlled. Landlord claimed that the state rent agency decontrolled the apartment in 1963. The DHCR had searched its records and found no order of decontrol. The agency did find a report of decontrol submitted by prior landlord in 1963. Tenant claimed that in two prior eviction cases, the courts ruled that the apartment was rent controlled. The court ruled for tenant, and landlord appealed. The appeals court found that there was insufficient proof to rule for either landlord or tenant. Tenant hadn't submitted the court decisions in the eviction cases to the court in this case. And prior landlord's report of decontrol wasn't a decontrol order; it was merely a declaration by prior landlord of its claim that the apartment was decontrolled.

Buxbaum v. Tessier: NYLJ, 7/5/05, p. 31, col. 3 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Luciano, JP, Crane, Fisher, Lifson, JJ)