Landlord's Demolition Application Denied

Landlord asked the DHCR for permission to demolish a rent-stabilized building and to evict tenant. The DRA ruled against landlord and denied its application. Landlord appealed and lost.

In January 2018, landlord had filed its application for an order granting approval to refuse renewal of tenant's lease and/or proceed for eviction. The rent-stabilized tenant's lease had expired on June 20, 2014, and landlord didn't send tenant a lease nonrenewal/termination notice within the specified window period before his last rent-stabilized renewal lease expired. The DRA therefore denied landlord's demolition application without prejudice to refiling within the window period of an existing lease. Landlord argued that service of the demolition application satisfied the termination notice requirement. Landlord also claimed that the lease termination requirement wasn't absolute, especially if lease nonrenewal wasn't willful.

The DHCR found that landlord misconstrued the Rent Stabilization Code. RSC Section 2524.5(b) didn't permit landlord to satisfy the termination notice requirement of RSC Section 2524.2(c)(3) by sending tenant landlord's demolition application at any time. The RSC provides that landlord wasn't restricted to the window period of between 150 and 90 days prior to the expiration of tenant's current lease term, but may send tenant the application, instead of the termination notice, at any time after the commencement of the lease term and prior to the close of the window period. But neither service of landlord's demolition application nor service of the lease termination notice can be deemed timely where they are served after the expiration of tenant's last lease term and before the next renewal lease term has started.

1714 Madison LLC: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. GW210025RO (3/27/19) [3-pg. doc.]