When to Register Hotel Units

Landlord asked the DHCR some questions about when to register hotel units. In one case, the hotel unit had always been used for transient tenants. It had never been registered with the DHCR. Did landlord have to register this unit? In an opinion letter, the DHCR said ``no.'' As long as the unit is never occupied by a ``permanent tenant,'' it needn't be registered. However, once it's occupied by a permanent tenant, it must be registered each year---even after permanent tenant moves out and the unit is again registered to transient tenants. At that point, the unit would be registered as a ``temporary exempt.'' Landlord also asked what would happen if the hotel unit was used for transient purposes until the summer of 1988. Then new landlord, a not-for-profit hospital, bought the building and rented some units to affiliated hospital employees. The DHCR said that no registration was needed in this case, as long as the building remained classified as a hotel. The units never became subject to stabilization, first, because they were used for transient tenants and, then, because they were occupied by affiliated tenants of a not-for-profit institution. Such units were exempt from rent stabilization.

DHCR Opin. Ltr. by Nathaniel Geller (4/28/92) [2-page document]