Rent on Two Combined Apartments Exceeded $2,000 per Month

Landlord applied in 1994 for high-rent/high-income deregulation of tenant's combined apartments. The DRA ruled for landlord, and tenant appealed. Tenant claimed that his two apartments were distinct and physically separate units each renting for less than $2,000 per month. Tenant claimed that the original lease, the lease renewal, the registration forms, the legal notices, the building's certificate of occupancy, and the fact that rent was paid separately for each apartment proved that they were separate. The DHCR ruled against tenant. Tenant's two apartments were across the hall from each other. There was no kitchen in one of the apartments; a bedroom had replaced it. The two apartments were occupied as one unit, and the combined rents totaled more than $2,000. So the rents should be combined in determining whether the units qualified for deregulation.

Metzger: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. LC410052RT (3/24/99) [3-pg. doc.]