Tenant's Corporate Income Not Included When Deciding Deregulation Issue

Landlord applied for high-rent/high-income deregulation of rent-stabilized tenant's apartment. The DHCR ruled against landlord because tenant's household income was below the income threshold. Landlord appealed, claiming that the DHCR's decision was unreasonable. Landlord pointed out that tenant had corporate income in addition to personal income, which made his total income greater than the high-income threshold. The court and appeals court ruled against landlord. To determine whether tenant's household income is greater than the high-income threshold, the rent stabilization law limits the income that can be considered to the federal adjusted gross income of any occupant of the apartment, as reported on the New York State income tax return. The law doesn't permit consideration of corporate income.

Nestor v. DHCR: NYLJ, p. 28, col. 2 (1/11/99) (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Ellerin, JP, Nardelli, Rubin, Saxe, JJ)