Tenant in Two-Family House with Store Is Rent Controlled

Landlord asked the DHCR to rule on whether tenant was rent controlled. Tenant lived in a two-apartment building that contained a store on the ground floor. Tenant moved into the apartment some time after April 1, 1953, but before July 1, 1971. The DRA ruled that tenant was rent controlled because she took occupancy before July 1, 1971. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that, to be rent controlled in a two-unit building, tenant must have been in occupancy since before April 1, 1953. The DHCR pointed out that Rent & Eviction Regulations Section 2200.2(f)(12) applied. Under that provision, the exemption from rent control for two-family houses didn't apply if the building also included a store. Landlord's building had been configured as two apartments and a store since at least 1939.

152 East 21st Street: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. ZH420048RO (10/11/13) [2-pg. doc.]