ICF Forms Altered When Downloaded

Landlord filed high-rent/high-income deregulation applications in 2010 and stated that it had sent Income Certification Forms (ICFs) to tenants a few months earlier as required by law and DHCR procedure. The DHCR denied landlord's applications, finding that the ICFs used by landlord weren't proper, approved agency forms. Landlord appealed and won. Landlord obtained and downloaded the forms from the DHCR's Web site, using Adobe Professional software. Landlord didn't alter the forms in anyway. But the software caused a few minor typographical errors, a slightly different font size, and removed the boldface from a notice on the bottom of the form stating that owners receiving J-51 or 421-a tax benefits were ineligible for high-rent deregulation. These were not material differences, and the forms shouldn't have been rejected. The cases were reopened for determinations on whether tenants should be deregulated.

Beaux Arts Realty LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket Nos. ZA410017RO (8/3/11) [4-pg. doc.]