Luxury Deregulation Case Reopened to Give Tenant Notice of Rent Increases

Landlord applied for high-rent/high-income deregulation of tenant's rent-controlled apartment in 2015, when tenant's rent was $2,500 or more, and seeking verification of whether tenant's household income was over $200,000 per year in 2013 and 2014. The DRA ruled for landlord after tenant answered the DRA's notice of the deregulation application and admitted that his household income was above the deregulation threshold for both years, even though tenant also disputed the calculation of his legal rent.

Tenant appealed and the case was reopened. Tenant claimed that the DRA miscalculated the maximum rent for the apartment. DHCR rent records showed that the maximum collectible rent (MCR) for the apartment was over $2,500 when landlord's luxury deregulation application was filed. Although a fuel cost adjustment had been revoked, that is an additional surcharge not part of the MCR. However, while processing landlord's luxury deregulation application, the DRA didn't send tenant copies of the DHCR's rent control records after tenant questioned the rent, even though this is standard procedure. So the case was reopened to provide tenant with proper due process and notice of the rent.

Weaver: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. EW420071RT (10/11/17) [4-pg. doc.]