Parking Provided by Independent Garage Wasn't an Ancillary Service

The DHCR's Rent Administrator opened an Administrative Proceeding to determine whether parking was a required service for rent-stabilized tenants at landlord's building. The DRA ruled that parking wasn't a required ancillary service. The parking wasn't included in tenants' rents, the initial registration on file with the DHCR didn't list parking as a service being provided, tenants paid for parking separately from their apartment rents, and there was no common ownership between landlord building owner and the operator of the garage space. Later the DRA reopened the case based on fraud, illegality, or irregularity in a vital matter. The DRA found indirect ownership existed between landlord and the parking garage owner. So parking charges were subject to rent stabilization and increases were limited to rent guidelines increases. Landlord appealed and won. The DRA erred in its application of the definition of "indirect ownership." The owner of the parking garage was an independent contractor. While it was undisputed that, at one point, the building super was the owner of the parking garage, the super didn't have any ownership rights in the building.

5400 Company: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. HU630008RO (12/4/20) [2-pg. doc.]