Tenant's Apartment Was Improperly Deregulated After 2009 Vacancy

Landlord sued to evict unregulated tenant. The court ruled for landlord after a trial but later granted tenant’s request to set aside the judgment. Tenant claimed improper deregulation of the apartment, so the court looked back more than four years at the rent history. Landlord deregulated the apartment in 2009. The last legal regulated rent registered, in 2008, before the vacancy was just over $1,500. Landlord was then entitled to a 16 percent vacancy increase but presented no proof that it was entitled to any other rent increase. So the next legal monthly rent in 2009 was less than $2,000 and the apartment couldn’t have been deregulated. The court also noted that, under the appellate court decision in Altman v. 285 W Fourth LLC, an apartment isn't high-rent vacancy decontrolled unless the rent of the outgoing tenant prior to the vacancy exceeds the deregulation threshold. In addition, since landlord didn’t file a proper rent registration since 2008, the legal regulated rent remained $1,562 until and unless landlord registered the rent properly with the DHCR. 

1342 Bergen LLC v. Edwards: Index No. 99827/14, NYLJ No. 1202774523342 (Civ. Ct. NY; 11/14/16; Schneider, J)