Deregulated Tenant's Divorce Didn't Lower His Household Income

Landlord applied in 2011 for high-rent/high-income deregulation of tenant's rent-stabilized apartment. Tenant claimed that his household income didn't exceed $175,000 in 2009. But Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) records showed that tenant's household income was above the deregulation threshold for both 2009 and 2010. In response, tenant claimed that his wife had moved out in 2009 after their divorce, so the household income was lower. The DRA ruled for landlord and deregulated the apartment. Tenant appealed and lost. The DRA properly relied on DTF tax matching information and wasn't authorized to conduct an independent investigation of tenant's household income. It also didn't matter that tenant made support payments to his wife and children at another residence in 2009. The only relevant annual income is the federal adjusted gross income as reported on tenant's New York State income tax return. 

Arabian: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. CR410029RT (1/26/15) [7-pg doc.]