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Signed Stabilized Lease in April, now LL says it's mistake

NYC Rent Regulation: Rent Control/Rent Stabilized, DHCR Practice/Procedures

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Signed Stabilized Lease in April, now LL says it's mistake

Postby 446618 » Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:02 pm

My partner and I found a great deal on an apartment in NYC last year and signed a lease, starting April 15, 2021. At the time we were looking exclusively for rent stabilized units and we were told that this was one. We made certain that the lease explicitly stated that the apartment was rent stabilized, it was included in a bullet point on the rider, signed by us and the landlord.

We know that we are supposed to receive a lease renewal 150-90 days before the end of our lease. We did not receive one, so we reached out to the landlord requesting that they send us the lease renewal. We did not hear back from the landlord, but the broker for the apartment knocked on our door today. He told us that it was a mistake made by his assistant and that neither the building or our apartment is rent stabilized. We would not have taken this apartment if we had known it was not rent stabilized.

The broker said the LL will offer us a new lease for one year at the rate that we currently pay, but that after one year they could charge us whatever they want. We do not want to have to move now or in a year. As we have a lease that explicitly states that this is a rent stabilized unit, what are the next steps that we should take? What resources are there that we can use? Shouldn't the terms of rent stabilization apply to our apartment since that is part of the terms both parties agreed to?

EDIT: We've spoken to a couple tenant lawyers (free consultations) and they're saying similar things. It sounds like, although DHCR is saying that our current unit is not stabilized, it could have been illegally deregulated. We're requesting the rent history to find out. As far as legal avenues go, apparently we'd have to sue for something along the lines of illegal marketing or promissory estoppel/detrimental reliance. For that to hold any weight we'd have to prove that we wouldn't have taken this apartment if we didn't think it was stabilized (which is easy) and that we would've lived here longer than what they're offering (which is apparently very difficult). It seems to us that, whether purposeful or negligent, there isn't a lot we can do in terms of legal recourse. What they did was definitely illegal, but as it would be inordinately hard to prove damages, it seems that winning a lawsuit is unlikely. It really sucks because we genuinely had talked about living here for 10 years and that there is no way we were going to be able to afford a place in Manhattan again. The pandemic was our one shot to live where we really wanted and we were cheated out of it because of a lying/negligent broker and landlord.
Last edited by 446618 on Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Signed Stabilized Lease in April, now LL says it's mista

Postby TenantNet » Wed Jan 19, 2022 1:12 am

First, building by themselves are not RS as you can have units with different types, i.e., RC, RS, unregulated, etc. all in one building. OTOH, individual apartments my be RS.

Second, a broker knocking on your door is not an official notice (some leases require certified mail). That is not a communication from the LL (or his managing agent) and I would ignore it. The broker has no business giving you legal information; I would lodge a complaint against his license.

Third, RS status is not made by the LL or the tenant. It comes with an examination of the facts and history of the building and unit, and usually a court or DHCR makes that decision. A prior lease may have some weight in this, but I caution not to put all eggs in that basket.

Have you received a rent history from DHCR? Get one, going back to 1984 to see what the history is. https://portal.hcr.ny.gov/app/ask

You can also consult with a tenant attorney (one who knows this stuff). A number of tenant attorneys advertise on this site. I would see if your signing a lease renewal might waive any of your rights to assert RS status in the future. I don't think it would, but check first.

Talk to your neighbors see what the LL and the building has done over the years.

For now keep a low profile, don't let the LL know you're poking around, any more than you already have.
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Re: Signed Stabilized Lease in April, now LL says it's mista

Postby Landlords Boy » Wed Jan 19, 2022 9:31 am

I agree pretty much with TN, with two caveats:

One, I find it extremely suspicious a broker would be knocking on your door with this news. I'd guess there's some hidden agenda here - not necessarily your landlord's, either.

Two, I wouldn't bother with getting an attorney until (1) you've checked the rent history like TN suggested, and (2) talked to your landlord about your apartment's status and renewal: if it's RS you're entitled to an RS renewal. Even if it's not RS, out of fairness you should be entitled to one renewal at no more than the authorized RS annual increase. If LL says yes, fine, if not, seek an attorney.
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Re: Signed Stabilized Lease in April, now LL says it's mista

Postby TenantNet » Wed Jan 19, 2022 9:54 am

On the broker, LLB, that's not a caveat ... you essentially agree with what we said.

Getting (retaining) an attorney is not the same thing as consulting with an attorney. You want to get an assessment of the situation from an experienced hand. Once you retain a lawyer, they will do things like file complaints or contact the LL. That comes later. So as we said, do your research and stay under the radar until you have a good case.

The tenant said at top they had reached out to the LL, so it's pretty obvious the LL asked the broker to step in and take the blame, hoping the tenant would accept that. Don't do that. If the LL ignores the tenant's letter, then that's his disadvantage. The tenant can send a follow-up letter to the LL saying they hadn't heard back from the LL (I wouldn't even mention the broker). So that's a nudge. But yes, get the rent history first. Other than that don't make a big fuss to the LL at this point.

Also understand that leases are drafted by the landlord and it's presumed they know what is in the lease. A long-standing principal is that leases are construed against the drafter (the landlord).

Just google it "leases are construed against the interests of the drafter".

We found this: https://www.aldrichlegalservices.com/bl ... AE104.html

Also see Contra proferentem -- at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_proferentem

Contra proferentem (Latin: "against [the] offeror"), also known as "interpretation against the draftsman", is a doctrine of contractual interpretation providing that, where a promise, agreement or term is ambiguous, the preferred meaning should be the one that works against the interests of the party who provided the wording.
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Re: Signed Stabilized Lease in April, now LL says it's mista

Postby BubbaJoe123 » Wed Jan 19, 2022 3:06 pm

Whether an apartment is RS or not isn't a matter of negotiation between a LL and tenant, it's fact-based. With that said, the LL wrote and signed a lease saying that the apartment is rent-stabilized, and the tenant has a very good argument that they wouldn't have signed the lease had the apartment not been represented as rent-stabilized. Given this, the tenant has a very good argument that, even if the apartment ISN'T rent-stabilized, that the landlord is obliged to treat it as if it were, and provide the benefits of rent-stabilization (guaranteed renewal, limits on rent increases, etc.) to the tenant. Those obligations wouldn't continue after this tenant, unless the apartment actually is RS.

If saying the apartment is RS on the lease is a screwup by the broker's assistant, that's grounds for the LL to be pretty damn angry at the broker, but that's not the tenant's problem.
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Re: Signed Stabilized Lease in April, now LL says it's mista

Postby TenantNet » Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:05 pm

Bubba may or may not have a point, but the tenant should get a legal consultation from a tenant attorney ASAP.
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