Nonpurchasing Co-op Tenant Subject to High Rent/High Income Deregulation

(Decision submitted by Jeffrey Turkel of the Manhattan law firm of Rosenberg & Estis, P.C., attorneys for the landlord.) Landlord applied for destabilization of tenant's apartment based on high-rent/high-income deregulation rules. The DRA ruled for landlord, finding that tenant's rent was over $2,000 per month and tenant's annual household income exceeded $250,000. Tenant appealed, arguing that his apartment wasn't subject to high income deregulation because he was a nonpurchasing tenant in a building that had been converted to co-op ownership. The DHCR ruled against tenant. The DHCR's high rent/high income deregulation rules specifically exempt certain types of apartments such as those currently rent-stabilized due to tax benefits under Real Property Tax Law sections 421-a or 489. But there is no such exemption for apartments that remain stabilized after a co-op conversion.

DeMontebello: DHCR Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. JF410071RT (4/9/96) [5-page document]