Landlord Proved Vacancy Deregulation of Apartment

Tenant complained to the DHCR of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding that the apartment was no longer subject to rent stabilization. Tenant appealed and, while tenant's PAR was pending, the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) was enacted. HSTPA retroactively changed the rent overcharge lookback period, so the DHCR at first sent the case back to the DRA for reconsideration. But New York's highest court then ruled in 2020, in the case of Regina Metro. Co., LLC v. DHCR, that HSTPA didn't apply to PAR proceedings dealing with overcharges occurring prior to HSTPA's effective date of June 14, 2019. So the DHCR assigned tenant's PAR a new docket number and considered it under pre-HSTPA law.

The DHCR ruled against tenant, who had challenged a rent increase approved by the DRA for individual apartment improvements (IAIs) to the apartment. The DHCR found that landlord had submitted sufficient proof of IAIs, including an itemized invoice listing all of the work done and the cost of each item. The invoice listed the subject apartment, was signed by the principal of the contracting company and by landlord, and listed the five checks from landlord to the contractor paying for the work. Landlord also submitted copies of those cashed checks that were contemporaneous with the work done and added up to the amount of the claimed IAI cost. Landlord also submitted a sworn statement from the principal of the contracting company which stated that all the listed work had been fully performed and paid for. And landlord had submitted tenant's vacancy lease, which included a Notice of Apartment Deregulation Pursuant to High Rent Vacancy that set forth the calculations that raised the legal rent above the deregulation threshold. There were no additional requirements to prove IAIs at the time of tenant's complaint.

Ben-Harari: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. IS410052RK (6/1/21)[6-pg. document]