Tenant Can File Even Though Apartment Not Vacancy Decontrolled

(Decision submitted by Meichelle R. MacGregor of the Manhattan law firm of Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, P.C., attorneys for the tenant.) Tenant filed a fair market rent appeal, challenging the first stabilized rent for his apartment. The DHCR ruled against tenant. The prior rent-controlled tenant had been evicted pursuant to an agency order finding that the prior tenant was a nonprimary resident. So the DHCR found that the apartment wasn't ''vacancy decontrolled'' and tenant had no standing to maintain the fair market rent appeal. Tenant appealed, claiming that this ruling was arbitrary and unreasonable. The court ruled for tenant. The Rent Stabilization Law gives no indication that the legislature intended to limit fair market rent appeals in this way by the DHCR. The DHCR's practice of limiting fair market rent appeals to vacancy decontrols not resulting from eviction wasn't based on any law and was ''arbitrary and capricious.'' The case was sent back to the DHCR to process tenant's fair market rent appeal.

Muller v. DHCR: Index No. 118694/97 (6/23/98) (Sup. Ct. NY; Abdus-Salaam, J) [34-page document]