Tenant in Former J-51 Building Not Subject to Deregulation

Landlord applied for high-rent/high-income deregulation of tenant's rent-controlled apartment in 2010. Tenant claimed that her household income was below the deregulation threshold for both 2008 and 2009. Landlord claimed that tenant had a husband whose income should be included in the DHCR's determination. DTF records confirmed that tenant's income didn't exceed $175,000 in either 2008 or 2009. The DRA ruled against landlord, and found that tenant's husband wasn't an apartment occupant at the relevant time for the purpose of luxury deregulation. Landlord appealed and lost. Documents submitted to the DRA showed that tenant's husband was living in Puerto Rico when the ICF was served on the tenant in early 2010. In a prior, 2008, deregulation proceeding tenant had stated that her husband had permanently vacated the apartment in January 2007. Tenant submitted a letter from her husband's landlord in Puerto Rico affirming that the husband lived and worked there. Landlord didn't present any proof to the contrary. More important, tenant's building was receiving or had received J-51 tax program benefits at one time and the apartment had previously been subject to rent control. So, even though the building's J-51 benefits had expired, high-rent/high-income deregulation didn't apply to tenant's apartment.

365 West End Avenue, LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. BN420013RO (6/28/14) [6-pg. doc.]