DHCR Denial of Tenant's Housing Application Upheld

Potential tenant applied to the DHCR for a one-bedroom apartment at Southbridge Towers housing development. The DHCR denied tenant's application. Tenant appealed, claiming that the DHCR's decision was arbitrary and unreasonable. The court ruled against tenant. Tenant applied for the housing in 2007 under a DHCR lottery. The DHCR required that all members of the household applying for the housing must reside together at the time of the application and at the time that the apartment became available. The DHCR denied tenant's application because she didn't prove that her co-applicant lived with her at the time of her application. Tenant claimed that her co-applicant's medical bills proved that he lived with her. But the bills were dated between Aug. 31, 2006, and Feb. 2, 2007, and sought payment for treatment that occurred between July 6, 2006, and Aug. 27, 2006. These bills, by themselves, didn't prove that the co-applicant lived with tenant on Feb. 17, 2007, when tenant filed her application with the DHCR. Tenant didn't submit other proof with her application. A letter written by her brother stating that the co-applicant lived with tenant was presented to the court for the first time on appeal and couldn't be considered.

Jannuzi v. DHCR: NYLJ, 3/17/09, p. 26, col. 1 (Sup. Ct. NY; Friedman, J)