Building Was Converted from Commercial to Residential in 1999

March 28, 2017

LVT Number: #27577

Landlord sued to evict unregulated tenant, who claimed that he was rent stabilized. Landlord claimed that the building was exempt from rent stabilization due to substantial rehabilitation in 1999 that converted the building from an empty warehouse lacking even the means to access the space above the ground floor into a residential building. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. Landlord had submitted substantial proof that the building was converted from purely commercial to 23 apartments between 1999 and 2003. A residential Certificate of Occupancy was issued in 2005.

Landlord sued to evict unregulated tenant, who claimed that he was rent stabilized. Landlord claimed that the building was exempt from rent stabilization due to substantial rehabilitation in 1999 that converted the building from an empty warehouse lacking even the means to access the space above the ground floor into a residential building. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. Landlord had submitted substantial proof that the building was converted from purely commercial to 23 apartments between 1999 and 2003. A residential Certificate of Occupancy was issued in 2005. Rent Stabilization Code Section 2520.11(e)(8) permits, but does not require, landlord to obtain a prior opinion from the DHCR as to whether work qualifies as a substantial rehabilitation. 

 

 
885 Park Avenue Brooklyn, LLC v. Goddard: Index No. 1976/2014, NYLJ No. 1202779859195 (App. T. 2 Dept.; 2/10/17; Weston, JP, Solomon [dissenting in part], Elliot, JJ)

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