Changing number of units in RS apartment?

[rentstubq]

I found this:

http://www.nycrgb.org/html/resources/hm ... ml#27-2077

which seems to imply that rent stabilized apartments cannot have bedrooms added. Is this correct? If an apartment had an RS tenant who vacates, is it legal for the landlord to change the apartment from (for example) a 2 br to a 3 br?

[TenantNet]

You're mis-reading this.I suspect this has to do mostly with SRO units or rooming houses, not the number of bedrooms in a RS apartment. However, chances are the building owner would have to obtain or change a Certificate of Occupancy. And in some areas of town reducing the number of 2-BR units in a building is prohibited. Also, cutting a bedroom in half - going from 2-BR to 3 BR - might have other effects. It could reduce the size of each room below the minimum, and it could affect the egress layout of the apartment so one or more rooms would not have viable egress.

[rentstubq]

How about going from a 2BR to a FOUR br? I assume that would also require a new C of O?

[Sky]

At the very least, landlord would need to apply for an receive approval from DOB for alteration to the apartment (construction, electrical, plumbing).

[TenantNet]

How about going from 2.4 rooms to 7 rooms? We can't speculate on each possible situation. Call your local community board to see if any local laws apply (like certificate of no-harassment), or Certificate of Occupancy. If it were me, I'd find an architect or engineer to provide their opinion once you know what's really happening. What's really important is the change to the egress pattern. Check with FDNY on that.