Tenant Income Below Threshold for Deregulation

Landlord applied in 1998 for high-rent/high-income deregulation of tenant's apartment. Tenant objected and stated that his income for 1996 and 1997 was below the $175,000 annual threshold for deregulation. The DHCR ruled against landlord after verifying tenant's income information with the Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF). Landlord appealed, claiming that tenant hadn't filed an income tax return for 1997 when the DHCR made its decision. The court and appeals court ruled against landlord. State law permits DTF only to verify by a yes or no answer whether tenant's household income for the year in question is below the income threshold. DTF couldn't tell the DHCR whether a return actually had been filed. And there was no indication that tenant hadn't filed a return for 1997.

Giffuni Bros. v. DHCR: NYLJ, 4/29/02, p. 20, col. 3 (App. Div.1 Dept.; Buckley, JP, Rosenberger, Ellerin, Rubin, JJ)