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High rent vacancy in 2020?

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

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High rent vacancy in 2020?

Postby 0pabinia » Sat Dec 11, 2021 1:56 am

Context: the building is in Murray Hill; was built in 1900; has 20 units; and I am both the lessee and sole occupant.

I requested the rental history for the unit I moved into earlier this year (May 2021) and saw that there was a high rent vacancy listed as the reason for destabilization in July of 2020. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that made illegal in June of 2019? Should my apartment still be stabilized? If so, what are my next steps?

For the whole picture:
* The same rent-stabilized tenant occupied the apartment from 1988-2017 and his renewal was always around the end of July.
* Legal Regulated Rent when he moved out was $1,100.70/mo, but he actually paid $1,001.50/mo for the last two years.
* For 2018, it was RS-V 7/30/2018 with the Legal Regulated Rent at the same $1,100.70/mo.
* For 2019, it was RS-V 7/31/2019 with the Legal Regulated Rent at $1,514.56.
* In 2020, it changed to PE 7/30/2020 with "Exempt" in the Legal Regulated Rent column. Printed on the line directly underneath (but still in the same year) are "High Rent Vacancy" and "Vac/Leas Imprvmnt".
* For 2021, it just reads "Exempt Apartment - Reg Not Required".

Not relevant to the status of the apartment, but I'm really, really hoping it is because I got this unit- a (petite, but true) 2 bed/1 bath- at the same $1,900/mo price as my previous 250 sq ft studio. Having a place that I can afford on my own that will suit my needs for years to come without fear of a rent spike would give me some desperately-needed peace of mind.
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Re: High rent vacancy in 2020?

Postby TenantNet » Sat Dec 11, 2021 6:20 am

I believe you're correct. For a good synopsis of the 2019 HSTPA, go to viewtopic.php?f=24&t=13981 and download Part 1 of Judge Lebovits's article.

On page 5 look under Luxury Deregulation for a synopsis of both High Rent and High Income Deregulation. Both are abolished as of 6/14/19.

Registrations (which is how rent histories are put together) are what a LL reports to DHCR and are not a determination of the legality of anything. There is a four-year statute of limitations on overcharges, but not on apartment regulatory status. LLs must submit yearly registrations to DHCR by the end of July each year and reflect the rent as it existed on April 1st of that year. See https://hcr.ny.gov/rent-registration for rules of registration.

I'm not sure what "RS-V" indicates (my guess is Vacancy), but I haven't seen how this is used on a registration. If it's in a column, what is the header of the column?

My guess is that PE stands for permanently exempt.

Look at this page: https://hcr.ny.gov/system/files/documen ... 2021_0.pdf - which may clarify that.

I've never seen the PE designation used for High Rent Deregulation, but DHCR does strange things. You might get some info from the DHCR Hotline (if it's still operating). But be cautious as the operators are often not trained in anything complex.

For now I would continue to do research, but don't let the LL know you are poking around, not yet.

You can talk to neighbors to see what may have happened in the building or with the former tenant,. They might know. You should try to find out what improvements were made after the former tenant left but before you took occupancy. Get a sense of when this happened. Even if the work took place prior to 6/19/19, I don't think the deregulation occurred until you took occupancy.

You could also consult with a tenant attorney who has experience with High Rent Deregulation and HSTPA.

I would not file with DHCR - or the courts - until you are absolutely sure of how your situation would play out.
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Re: High rent vacancy in 2020?

Postby Landlords Boy » Mon Dec 20, 2021 11:08 am

"* In 2020, it changed to PE 7/30/2020 with "Exempt" in the Legal Regulated Rent column. Printed on the line directly underneath (but still in the same year) are "High Rent Vacancy" and "Vac/Leas Imprvmnt"."

Interesting. The on-line Annual Apartment Registration app doesn't permit this: if the LL had tried to save such an entry the system would have rejected it and stated the reason: date must be before 6/14/2019. Wonder what happened here.
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Re: High rent vacancy in 2020?

Postby Landlords Boy » Mon Jan 10, 2022 5:26 pm

Oh, got a possible answer: if LL filed for vacancy decontrol before HSTPA was passed DHCR may not have processed it and issued the order until after. In that case, the apartment could have become exempt in 2020.
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Re: High rent vacancy in 2020?

Postby TenantNet » Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:35 pm

I wouldn't buy into that so quickly, First DHCR could have it wrong and the courts could rule otherwise. Second, with some items, if an application was pending as of June 2019, if no decision had been reached, the HSTPA applies. If a decision was issued before the new law took effect and a PAR is pending, the the old law would control. Of course with decontrol, in most cases the LL's just do it and there's nothing pending at DHCR, so it might depend on something else. That's where a tenant really needs to consult with a tenant attorney who follows this stuff.
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Re: High rent vacancy in 2020?

Postby 0pabinia » Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:59 pm

Would an application to deregulate take that long to process?

And I just noticed a potential new angle: possible previous tenants who aren't listed on the rent history. There are two women who get mail to this address and I managed to find one of them on LinkedIn.

What questions should I ask her aside from: 1) the dates that she lived here; 2) if she signed a lease; 3) if she knows the other woman; and 4) if she has any pictures of the apartment (to see if there were any improvements)?
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Re: High rent vacancy in 2020?

Postby TenantNet » Mon Jan 10, 2022 7:32 pm

The are no applications; the LLs just do it. They are supposed to file a form with DHCR, but few do.
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Re: High rent vacancy in 2020?

Postby Landlords Boy » Thu Jan 13, 2022 8:56 am

"* For 2019, it was RS-V 7/31/2019 with the Legal Regulated Rent at $1,514.56.
* In 2020, it changed to PE 7/30/2020 with "Exempt" in the Legal Regulated Rent column. Printed on the line directly underneath (but still in the same year) are "High Rent Vacancy" and "Vac/Leas Imprvmnt".
* For 2021, it just reads "Exempt Apartment - Reg Not Required"."

I think I figured out a better explanation:

When we landlords file Rent Registration reports they are for the status of the apartment as of April 1st; July 31st is just the due date for filing them. So it's possible that on 4/1/19 the apartment was both vacant and rent-stabilized, yet the landlord had been making improvements and ultimately rented the apartment before June 14th, 2019. Assuming the improvements and vacancy lease increase pushed the LRR above the threshold, then the apartment would have shown up as deregulated in the 2020 report.
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