Tenant Showed Good Cause for Not Responding to Deregulation Notices

Landlord applied for high-rent/high-income deregulation of tenant’s apartment in 2013 because the legal rent was $2,500 or more. Although tenant filed an initial answer, the DRA ruled for landlord based on tenant’s failure to respond to follow-up notices seeking either a copy of preprinted mailing labels or the first pages of the specified N.Y. State income tax returns. Tenant appealed, and the case was reopened. Tenant showed good cause for not responding to the DRA’s additional notices. Tenant had ongoing medical problems, including degenerative eye disease, which made reading extremely difficult and sometimes impossible. This was the first deregulation application tenant ever received, and tenant had initially responded. Tenant also submitted with his PAR the missing tax record pages showing his relevant income. The case was sent back to the DRA for further ruling on whether tenant’s annual income exceeded $200,000 in 2011 and 2012.

Johnson: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. DU410067RT (12/21/15) [4-pg. doc.]