RS apartments may be sold for townhouse conversion

[duchess57]

Thanks in advance for your help.

It's a sad and common NYC story -- the building I've been living in for 18 years is being sold, and one of the potential offers is from someone who would buy the building and turn the whole thing into a single-family townhome. There are 10 units in the building, and all are rent stabilized.

I'm not worried if the building sells to another landlord. But my research tells me if its sold to an individual and they want to covert the building to their own luxury townhome, they can do that (seven buildings on my block have done this in the last 5 years) by claiming owner occupancy.

1) Is this true?
2) How much time would I have from the sale to an eviction date? My landlord hasn't given us new leases in three years, though I've been asking about a two-year renewal for a while.
3) Is this fightable?

Thank you!

[TenantNet]

Yes, it's true. But it's not easy. Tenants can organize and perhaps stop or delay the mass eviction for several years.

That you haven't had new leases is a good thing. They would likely have to bring things into alignment before seeking owner occupancy with DHCR.

There are instances where tenants were successful in fighting this, and cases where they have been unsuccessful. Some tenants will be bought off and move out. But you need to start organizing now, and start thinking about getting a good tenant attorney on board - someone who deals with owner occupancy all the time. That can be expensive, but you might save your home.

[duchess57]

Thank you. I'm already looking at some attorney recommendations.

My guess is 6 of the units will move out quickly--these are studios with sleeping lofts and most of the tenants are younger. I'm probably one of two older (50+), long-term tenants, and the other two fall in the middle. I estimate the core group willing to fight to stay would only be me and one or two others. And maybe just me.

Does that reduce my chances of being successful?

[BubbaJoe123]

Agreed that getting a good lawyer will be key here who can guide you through this process. One thing to keep in mind - don't be too attached to this particular apartment. If someone wants to return a townhouse to a single family residence, they probably will be able to do it, eventually. What you CAN potentially do, however, is get a situation where they will be willing to cut you an excellent buyout deal to keep you from slowing down the process. On a larger scale (major developments, not just a single house), this is something that David Rozenholc has done to great success. In this context, the fact that a number of your fellow tenants will move out quickly is a good thing for you, since the last holdouts get the best deals.

In any case, a lawyer with experience in owner-occupancy cases is definitely the right approach.

[duchess57]

BubbaJoe, thanks for your input. I was given a list of tenant attorneys by a friend who went through that with a major development and got a very, very good buyout. Rozenholc was on that list, though her building went with another attorney. My situation would be the single-house scenario, so not as valuable. I've got an appointment at a tenant clinic next week, and from that I hope to get a game plan for anything I should be doing while I wait to hear about who the buyer actually is. Then once I hear that it's definitely an individual, I'll get representation. Thanks again!