Landlord's Luxury Deregulation Application Rejected

Landlord applied for high-rent/high-income deregulation of tenant’s apartment in 2011. The DRA dismissed landlord’s application because landlord didn't attach a copy of the prerequisite Income Certification Form (ICF) to its application. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord stated that its regular practice was to attach the ICF with proof of mailing to its luxury deregulation applications, and didn’t know where in the filing process the ICF may have become separated from the deregulation application. Landlord submitted a copy of the ICF it had sent to tenant, along with proof of mailing, with its PAR.

Landlord also argued that since tenant failed to return the ICF to landlord, landlord wasn’t required to submit the ICF with its deregulation application. But landlord was incorrect. Landlords can file a luxury deregulation application when either (a) a tenant fails to answer an ICF; (b) tenant admits in response to the ICF that his rent is above the deregulation threshold; or (c) landlord disputes tenant’s claim that his income is below the threshold. In any instance, as set forth in DHCR Operational Bulletin 95-3, landlord must show that it sent the ICF to the tenant by attaching a copy to its application. Otherwise, the DHCR can’t process landlord’s deregulation application.

104-106 East 81st Street LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. ZI410033RO (7/10/12) [4-pg. doc.]