Newly Created Apartment Constructed in 2008 Was Deregulated

Tenant complained that his apartment had been improperly deregulated. The DRA ruled against tenant, finding in 2018 that the apartment was a newly created unit, that the first legal rent was above the $2,000 high-rent vacancy deregulation threshold in effect at the time it was first rented, and that the apartment therefore wasn't subject to rent stabilization.

Tenant appealed and lost. Landlord proved that two apartments had been combined to created a new unit. DOB records showed that the building had been an SRO building and that a 2007 inspection showed that apartments 304 and 305 were separate units at that time. DHCR inspection also found that tenant's apartment had a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, meaning that two or more SRO units had been combined to create the newly created apartment. Tenant moved into the new unit in 2008. No changes to the Rent Stabilization Law made effective June 14, 2019, under the HSTPA applied to this case.

Aslam: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. HM410025RT (7/6/21)[6-pg. document]