High Rent Apartment Decontrolled After Vacancy

(Decision submitted by Patti Stone of the Manhattan law firm of Rosenberg & Estis, P.C., attorneys for the landlord.) Facts: Formerly rent-controlled apartment became vacant in 1995. The apartment then became subject to rent stabilization. Landlord charged the first tenant a monthly rent of $2,144.92 and claimed that the apartment was destabilized under high-rent/high-income deregulation rules. Tenant filed a fair market rent appeal, claiming he never received an RR-1 form from landlord. Landlord also sued to evict tenant when his lease expired. Tenant also claimed in court that the apartment was rent stabilized. Tenant argued that high-rent/high-income rent deregulation wasn't intended to apply to the initial rent-stabilized rent. Court: Landlord wins. The DRA had ruled against tenant, finding that the apartment was deregulated and that the DHCR therefore had no authority to rule on the rent. The court ruled that, upon decontrol, the apartment became subject to rent stabilization. But, at the same time, the apartment became exempt because it was vacant and because the initial legal regulated rent was greater than $2,000. Landlord's failure to send an RR-1 had no effect on whether the apartment was deregulated.

Central Park South Assocs. v. Haynes: NYLJ, p. 26, col. 5 (1/10/97) (Civ. Ct. NY; Dankberg, J)