Deregulation Forms Contained Harmless Errors

Landlord filed high-rent/high-income deregulation applications for three tenants in 2010. The DRA rejected landlord's applications because the forms and ICF forms before them weren't proper, approved agency forms. Landlord appealed and won. Landlord had downloaded the "fillable forms" from the DHCR's Web site using Adobe Professional software without altering the forms in any way. Any resulting errors in the printed forms werede minimis--that is, minor--and harmless. The DHCR agreed. As printed, a notice on the application form stating that "an owner receiving J-51 or 421-a tax benefits is ineligible to file for High Income Rent Deregulation until after such benefits expire" did not appear in bold lettering. This wasn't a material difference and bold lettering wasn't required by the Rent Stabilization Law or Code. A few minor defects in the printing of the ICF form similarly contained all the required elements of the form. The cases were sent back to the DRA to determine whether the apartments should be deregulated.

Beaux Arts Realty LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. YI410012-15RO (2/11/11) [3-pg. doc.]