DHCR Must Look into Whether Tenant Got Valid Tax Filing Extension

Landlord applied for high-rent/high-income deregulation of tenant’s rent-stabilized apartment in 2010. Tenant claimed that her total household income was below $175,000 in 2009 but that she hadn’t yet filed her 2009 income tax return. Tenant later filed her 2009 return but still hadn’t filed her 2008 return. Tenant claimed that this was irrelevant since her 2009 return showed that she was below the deregulation threshold during that year. Later the DHCR notified both tenant and landlord that the DTF was unable to match tenant’s tax information for either 2008 or 2009. The DRA therefore denied landlord’s application because it was unable to verify tenant’s income tax information. Landlord appealed and pointed out that, since tenant claimed her 2009 return was filed, the DHCR should have investigated further. The DHCR ruled for landlord and reopened the case. The DRA should have made further inquiries concerning DTF’s failure to make a match under the circumstances, and should have asked about the status of any valid extensions granted by DTF for 2008.

530 Park Residential Holdings LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. CV410034RO (6/19/15) [6-pg. doc.]