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.