Landlord Fined $50,600 for Transient Rentals

DOB issued two violation notices to landlord based on findings that four rooms at a mixed Class "A"/SRO unit building had been converted and occupied for transient use. DOB also found that on the second floor, a lobby/bar/reception area had been added. DOB sought per-day penalties for continued use. DOB's inspector had gone through the building, knocked on doors, and spoken with occupants who showed him online booking confirmations for short-term stays at the building. Landlord argued that Class "B" transient use had been authorized under the building's Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) since 1945. Landlord also argued that use of the building as a transient hotel was grandfathered in, despite Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) amendments in 2010 that barred transient use in Class "A" buildings.

The ALJ ruled against landlord, finding that the building's 1964 C of O established the building as a Class "A" multiple dwelling and that Class "B" transient use was unlawful. The ALJ fined landlord $50,600 based on continued transient use.

Landlord appealed and lost. The C of O lists the occupancy classification as "Old Law Tenement Class 'A' Multiple Dwelling & SRO." The C of O authorized 42 SRO rooms spread over the second through fifth stories of the building. Multiple Dwelling Law Section 4(16) provides that when a Class "A" multiple dwelling is used wholly or in part for SROs, the building remains a Class "A" multiple dwelling. And MDL Section 4(8)(a) provides that a Class "A" multiple dwelling shall only be used for permanent residence purposes for 30 consecutive days or more. The 2010 amendments to the MDL applied to all buildings in existence on the effective date of those amendments. The second-floor reception, bar, and lobby area also was a violation. The C of O expressly authorized only four SRO rooms, a tenant's laundry, and two offices on the second floor.

Branic International Realty Corp.: ECB App. No. 1700915 (1/4/18) [7-pg. doc.]