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Was my apartment legally de-regulated??

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

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Was my apartment legally de-regulated??

Postby agent99 » Thu Jan 30, 2020 2:47 pm

Hi all,

I live in formally rent stabilized unit, and requested my rent history from the DHCR.

In short: it was rent stabilized back in the 80s, then was under a temporary exemption ("owner occupied / employee") for many years (I'm guessing the super lived in my unit?), and then went straight to "permanently exempt" in the 2000s ("high rent vacancy").

So my question is, can the landlord go straight from a temporary exemption to being priced out of stabilization, without having to re-institute a rent stabilized status first?

At first I figured this was probably legal, but these two articles made me think there's a chance I could have a case:

https://www.landlordvtenant.com/article ... -exemption
http://onlinedigeditions.com/publicatio ... id=1223539

Appreciate getting some opinions on this -- thanks in advance!!
agent99
 
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Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2020 2:31 pm

Re: Was my apartment legally de-regulated??

Postby TenantNet » Thu Jan 30, 2020 3:39 pm

I think the LL is wrong based on what you said, but you really should do a more extensive research on the unit itself, if possible. You don't give us a lot of detail.

There are temp and permanent exemptions (and the view of which applies has changed over the years). But in general, if an employee occupies an apartment, it is usually under temporary exemption. That means when the employee leave the unit or his job, it goes back to regular rent stab.

At one point owner occupancy was seen as permanent, but I think that might have changed. (but don't quote us on that)

See this thread where this is discussed: http://www.tenant.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10777

I see you found this: https://www.landlordvtenant.com/article ... -exemption -- and you can FOIL the decision from DHCR.

The other link you found - we made it into a PDF file, attached here.
MR Management Mann Management November 2012.pdf


The cases it references can be found here:

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case ... 8225361220
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case ... 7129939016

Seems the Appellate Division upheld the lower NYS Supreme Court decision. But that was 8 years ago, so you should look at any more recent decisions.

Without more research I can't say if the 2019 rent law changes has any impact on exempt status, but I don't think it does.

So do more research. If you can I would seek out the prior tenants and they might be able to give you more history. You should also consult with a tenant attorney who has actual (and recent) experience with this issue.
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Re: Was my apartment legally de-regulated??

Postby agent99 » Thu Jan 30, 2020 7:35 pm

Thank you!

In the DHCR records it does specifically code the owner/employee occupancy as "Temporarily exempt", so I would assume that the de-regulation only happened when it came back on the market.

If it seems like I might have a case I'll definitely consult a tenant attorney, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy. Are there any resources for recommended attorneys on this website? I just poked around and didn't find anything. Also, is there any risk of ending up on the blacklist by pursuing this?

Thanks again!
agent99
 
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Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2020 2:31 pm

Re: Was my apartment legally de-regulated??

Postby TenantNet » Thu Jan 30, 2020 7:59 pm

Deregulation is what the LL says and reports on subsequent registrations, if filed. That does not mean it's law. You would have to challenge it. The DHCR history is what the LL reports to DHCR.

No, you're not crazy, of course the devil is in the details.

Don't worry about the blacklist. The 2019 laws put a crimp in that, and that was only when the LL took you to court. There is (and was) no blacklist when you challenged the RS status with DHCR.
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Information from TenantNet is from experienced non-attorney tenant
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