Landlord Claims Hotel Unit Not Rent Stabilized

Landlord sued to evict hotel unit tenant for nonpayment of rent. Landlord claimed that tenant was unregulated. Tenant claimed that he was hotel stabilized and that he was being overcharged. The court ruled for landlord without a trial. Tenant appealed, and the case was reopened. Whether tenant is hotel stabilized depends on whether the rent charged for the unit was less than $350 per month or $88 per week on May 31, 1968. So far landlord hadn't proved that. Landlord submitted only a copy of the 1968 edition of the national "Hotel & Motel Red Book," which indicated that single-occupancy rates at the building were between $11 and $14 per day at the time. And a ruling that another building tenant on the same floor was unregulated in a prior eviction proceeding wasn't binding in this case. A trial was needed to determine the facts.

Alphonse Hotel Corp. v. Roseboom: 2009 NY Slip Op. 29513 (12/18/09) (App. T. 1 Dept.; McKeon, PJ, Schoenfeld, Heitler, JJ)