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Posted by MikeW on July 13, 2000 at 17:17:19:

In Reply to: Rent history looks fishy--what's the next step? posted by Stacy on July 13, 2000 at 12:06:51:

You may or may not have something to work with. If you do, your likely to have to pursue it through housing court, and it will likely be pretty complicated. I would at least get a consultation with a lawyer to see if it's worth chasing.

: Thanks to advice from this board, I finally obtained the rent history for my $1400/mo, pre-1974, six-unit-building studio that's supposedly deregulated. The history shows "temporary exemption" for commercial occupancy from 1984-1997, then a permanant exemption for high-rent vacancy in 1998. The kicker: the actual and legal rents for all these years, including 1998, is listed as $0. Has anyone ever encountered this before? The supremely unhelpful DHCR staffer said it was probably a mistake (um, sure) and that I could file a DHCR complaint (something I've been strongly advised to avoid.) What's the best thing to do next? I'm really reluctant to start witholding rent and go the housing court route, since I don't want to risk eviction. Should I send a certified letter demanding proof that the rent really was over $2000 in 1998? Get a lawyer and head for civil court? Something else entirely?

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: You may or may not have something to work with.  If you do, your likely to have to pursue it through housing court, and it will likely be pretty complicated.  I would at least get a consultation with a lawyer to see if it's worth chasing.

: : Thanks to advice from this board, I finally obtained the rent history for my $1400/mo, pre-1974, six-unit-building studio that's supposedly deregulated. The history shows "temporary exemption" for commercial occupancy from 1984-1997, then a permanant exemption for high-rent vacancy in 1998. The kicker: the actual and legal rents for all these years, including 1998, is listed as $0. Has anyone ever encountered this before? The supremely unhelpful DHCR staffer said it was probably a mistake (um, sure) and that I could file a DHCR complaint (something I've been strongly advised to avoid.) What's the best thing to do next? I'm really reluctant to start witholding rent and go the housing court route, since I don't want to risk eviction. Should I send a certified letter demanding proof that the rent really was over $2000 in 1998? Get a lawyer and head for civil court? Something else entirely? 


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