Tenant with Non-Qualifying Income Verification Not Entitled to Renewal Lease

Tenant complained to the DHCR that landlord refused to give her a renewal lease. Landlord answered that the apartment was a restricted 100 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project pursuant to a Regulatory Agreement between landlord and the DHCR, and that the tenant moved into the unit and was added to the lease because she joined an already qualified household. Landlord said that, when the last income-qualified household member moved out, the tenant didn't qualify individually after her income was verified. Since tenant's income exceeded the 60 percent income limit, landlord argued that tenant's occupancy as an over-income tenant violated the Regulatory Agreement.

The DRA ruled against tenant, finding she didn't qualify for occupancy and that landlord wasn't obligated to offer her a renewal lease. Tenant appealed and lost. For the first time on appeal, tenant claimed succession rights. She also claimed landlord couldn't evict her without good cause. The DHCR wouldn't consider the succession claim for the first time on appeal. And the terms of the Regulatory Agreement trumped any state succession rights. Tenant simply no longer qualified for residency in the LIHTC unit. Her claims that she couldn't afford to pay the tax credit rent on her own and that she couldn't pay market rent for the unit were insufficient to overturn the DRA's decision.

Vasquez: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. JO210003RT (5/11/21) [2-pg. doc.]