Landlord Didn't Prove Owner Occupancy Decontrol

Landlord applied to the rent agency in 1983 to decontrol an apartment he claimed had been owner-occupied. In 1984 the rent agency denied landlord's application, finding that landlord submitted no substantial proof to support his claim. The rent agency ruled that the apartment was rent controlled and that the maximum rent was $100 per month effective September 1, 1961. The DHCR reopened the case in 1986 at landlord's request. Landlord submitted a statement from an attorney, claiming that he represented the prior owner of the building in the late 1950s and that the prior owner had lived in the apartment. The attorney stated that he was trying to find files to support this recollection, but never did so before the DRA affirmed the prior order. Landlord appealed, and the DHCR denied landlord's PAR. Landlord didn't show that the original rent agency order was the result of illegality, irregularity in vital matters, or fraud---and, in fact, didn't appeal the original decision. The sworn statements from various individuals weren't specific enough to prove that the prior owner had lived in the apartment at a given time, and the statements were made more than 20 years after the facts allegedly occurred, without supporting documentation.

Gottlieb: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. DE-420341-RO (3/22/93) [5-page document]