Colleen McGuire, the attorney who writes the summaries for TenantNet's Housing Court Decisions, answers a question in the Real Estate section of the October 27th online edition of The New York Times:
A Roommate Under Rent Regulation
Q. I am the sole lessee of a rent-stabilized two-bedroom, two-bath apartment. I rent a bathroom and a bedroom to a roommate, splitting the rent and utilities evenly. The kitchen and living room are common areas. My question concerns the furnishings. The bedroom is unfurnished, but the living room and kitchen are fully furnished. The roommate uses my kitchen appliances (including microwave oven, dishes, pots, pans and utensils), my audio-video equipment and my living room furniture. What compensation, if any, am I entitled to for the roommate's use of my personal items under rent-stabilization guidelines? . . . Kim Barget, Brooklyn.
A. Colleen F. McGuire, a Manhattan lawyer who frequently represents tenants, said that there are no guidelines in the rent stabilization code for charging a roommate for furnishings. "The code only provides that the legal rent must be shared proportionally among all occupants," Ms. McGuire said. Moreover, she said, since the regulation is so new, having been promulgated in December 2000, there is virtually no case law on the topic.
Ms. McGuire said, however, that a tenant with a roommate might be similar to to a tenant with a subtenant. Under the rent stabilization law, she said, a subtenant may be charged 10 percent above the legal rent for a furnished apartment.
"So the letter writer can arguably charge her roommate 10 percent above the roommate's proportionate share of the rent, since the roommate has access to a predominantly furnished apartment." Ms. McGuire added, however, that since the issue has not been the subject of judicial review, the letter writer would be proceeding at her own risk if she charges the roommate an additional amount. The risk, she said, is that the extra charge could be deemed an overcharge, and that could be grounds for eviction.