After a recent rent increase notice, I requested my rent history to see if the apartment was rent stabilized. What I found was a little confusing. In the early years, the rent was treated as stabilized, with small increases and non-round numbers. But then in 2008, there was a one-year vacancy, then a sudden increase from 1600-something to the nice round number of 2500. Soon after, the rent drops back down to 2000. This looks a lot like the classic renovation deregulation, and 2500 is over the Deregulation Rent Threshold. And indeed, after that, the apartment is treated as deregulated. Rent numbers are nice and round, and are raised by up to $200 at once. However, I'll note that from 2011 to 2020, the rent never reaches the new, higher DRT again.
So far, it seems fairly straightforward. The rent was deregulated via renovation, and possibly even a fairly legitimate one, since the apartment was ostensibly vacant for a year, and they went well over the necessary threshold. The only complicating factor is that from 2008 all the way to 2019, the "Apt Stat" in the Rent History continues to say "RS" and is regularly filed every year. It is not until 2020 that "REG NOT FOUND FOR SUBJECT PREMISES" is shown.
So my question is whether this "RS" in the Apt Stat in the Rent History has any meaning, or it is something purely clerical? Could it be that for whatever reason, the apartment was never officially deregulated at that time? Would it even matter now?