Landlord Not Required to Send Deregulation Petition to Occupants

(Decision submitted by Robert H. Berman of the Manhattan law firm of Borah, Goldstein, Altschuler & Schwartz, P.C., attorneys for the landlord.) In 1995 landlord applied for deregulation of tenant's apartment, claiming that tenant's household income was in excess of $250,000 for each of the prior two years and based on the fact that tenant's monthly rent was $2,000 or more. The DRA ruled for landlord based on tenant's failure to answer the deregulation petition. Tenant appealed, claiming that landlord and the DHCR didn't send each of the apartment's "tenants'' copies of all relevant notices in the deregulation proceeding. The DHCR ruled against tenant. The three individuals tenant referred to weren't tenants. They were tenant's children, who were occupants of the apartment with tenant but weren't named as co-tenants on the lease. The Rent Stabilization Law requires that the various notices be sent only to tenants of the apartment.

Futterman: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. KD410041RT (3/5/97) [3-page document]