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Landlord wants me out, but I think the unit is stabilized

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

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Landlord wants me out, but I think the unit is stabilized

Postby davidf » Sat Sep 14, 2019 2:36 am

Hi all, I need some help here - my landlord wants me to move out of my apartment by the end of October, and says they want to tear down the building and build a new one. I have been living here for 5 years and don't want to move. I was one a lease for a couple years, and the landlord didn't want to renew the lease so we've been doing month-to-month. It never occurred to me that the unit might be rent stabilized, so I didn't look into it until someone told me to request the rent history from the dhcr. I did that, and as it turns out this unit was rent stabilized for every year between 1988-1996 (for 2 different tenants). Every other year (1984-1988 and 1996-present) says "reg not found for subject premises". The highest the rent ever was during those years (1988) was $360. Our current rent is in the 1500 range (this is a rapidly gentrifying area of Brooklyn, which was not so desirable 10 years ago) so there is no way the rent could have ever been higher than 2000. Am I right to believe that this unit is almost certainly rent stabilized? If not, how could it have become de-stabilized? I was planning on going to the dhcr or Monday and potentially filing a claim for rent overages, and to get to the bottom of this. But I have some reservations, and am not sure this is the best route.

First of all, I read on this very website http://www.tenant.net/alerts/articles/complaining.html that going to the dhcr is not the best option, partly because of how long they take. If the landlord wants to tear the building down within a few months, but the dhcr takes over a year for an investigation, where does that leave me? What happens if the landlord does tear down the building, then come to find out that the apt was rent-stabilized? If I go to the dhcr, the landlord will know about my suspicion of rent-stabilized status, and might get a head start in falsifying documents/getting their ducks in order. Should I just stay here and let the landlord try to evict us, and wait until they take us to court? I would then be entitled to an attorney, and we could get our ducks in order, and surprise the landlord and the judge with the rental history, which the landlord assumes I'm unaware of. Is my thinking on this correct? Should I get an attorney right away? If so, where would be a good place to find a pro bono lawyer? I'm not experienced with this kind of thing and have never had an attorney for anything. So far, I've had the runaround and feel very on my own. Any advice is greatly appreciated, Thanks!
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Re: Landlord wants me out, but I think the unit is stabilize

Postby TenantNet » Sat Sep 14, 2019 3:32 am

First, let's get some information, and can you tell us in Private Mail (use the PM icon to the left of the post). Do not put any information on the public area that might identify you.

1. The address of the building and what neighborhood is it in?
2. How many units are in the building?
3. What is the layout of the building? units per floor, commercial on the ground floor, etc.
4. Who is the landlord? How big? Small one-building LL, or large LL with many buildings?
5. When was the building constructed (approx.) You can get information from the DOB and ACRIS websites. Do you need those URLs?
6. Are there any RS units in the building to your knowledge? RC units? Any units being held vacant? How many tenants are left? Old-time tenants can fill you in on things.
7. Other than the LL's statements, any signs of impending demolition? Workmen? Surveyors?
8. Has the area been through a recent rezoning? Do you know the current zoning designation?
9. You said you are currently month-to-month. How long has that been the case, or when did the last lease expire?
10. Are you in court now?
11. Your rent history, from-to dates, and how much rent was paid?

12. Please upload the DHCR rent history, all pages. PDF format. If you don't have a scanner, take a photo with your phone (make sure it's legible), then send .jpg - or better use an app like CamScanner.

13. You said you do not have a lawyer now ... we'll get to that later.
14. Has the LL given you a 30-day notice (for M2M tenants), a court petition, or any legal papers? What letters has he sent to you on this issue? (please upload to PM).
15. You said "we." Is anyone who was on the lease a senior, or disabled? Anyone who was not on the lease?

If I think of something else, I'll ask, but please answer the above.

As for attorney entitlement, well that depends on a number of issues including your location and income. You don't get a free lawyer automatically.

In general, you can not ignore this for fear the LL will get their ducks in order. That would not make sense. Now is the time for YOU to get YOUR ducks in order.

To declare RS status, yo can go to either DHCR or the courts. In court, you can use that as a defense to an eviction proceeding, or you can go into Supreme Court and start your own lawsuit.

Yes, DHCR can be horrible, and long (not counting appeals). They are often pro-landlord. But depending on what judge you get, the courts can be not-so-nice either.

I think a court would put a hold on any eviction if there was a question of RS status, but remember the RS law does have provisions for building demolition. I can't really law out how a scenario would work here.

So first step is getting answer to all the above questions. It might be the LL just wants you out and he's floating the demolition as a reason. Wouldn't be the first time the threats of demolition were fake.

Also consider if all this is real, and depending on may things, being a holdout can have good results. Look at this article.
https://nypost.com/2014/03/02/hotel-her ... park-west/

Of course I'm not suggesting you'll get $17M, but there's always hope. :)
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