Building Exempt from Rent Stabilization Based on Substantial Rehabilitation

(Decision submitted by Michael Littman, Esq. of the Rockville Centre law firm of Sidrane Schwartz-Sidrane Perinbasekar & Littman LLP, attorneys for the landlord.)

Prior landlord applied to the DHCR for a ruling that its building was exempt from rent stabilization due to substantial rehabilitation of the building after Jan. 1, 1974. Landlord claimed that the substantial rehab took place by conversion of the building from a three-story SRO building to an 11-unit multiple dwelling between 2008 and 2011, and that DOB issued a final Certificate of Occupancy in April 2016. The DRA ruled against landlord, finding that landlord failed to present sufficient evidence to prove its claim such as work contracts, invoices, proof of payment, work permits, etc.

Current landlord appealed and won. Landlord claimed that it had submitted sufficient documentation of the required work. Landlord submitted DOB permits under two job numbers, a new C of O, DOB applications and cost affidavits, and two affidavits of the engineer who filed the plans with DOB on the landlord's behalf. The engineer described the scope of the work performed, that the building was a vacant shell that contained only outer walls, possibly due to a fire, and outlined the building systems involved. Landlord also had submitted architectural plans and a Certificate of No Harassment (CONH) issued by HPD. The DHCR noted that a lack of work records and proof of payment, particularly in cases where work was done by a prior owner, weren't a bar to granting a substantial rehabilitation application where DOB submissions and expert affidavits supported the application. The DHCR found that the building was exempt from rent stabilization based on a substantial rehabilitation completed in April 2016.

228 West 132nd Street LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. MO410019RO (2/11/25)[5-pg. document]