TenantNet Forum

Where tenants can seek help and help others



Building not registered

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

Moderator: TenantNet

Building not registered

Postby nycman » Tue Feb 16, 2021 4:51 pm

My landlord hasn't registered my building with the DRC. The landlord has also failed to register any apartments in the building since the landlord purchased the building. Nor have any renewal leases have been offered since they bought the building.

My question is, how does this benefit the landlord? It seems that it would be to their disadvantage.
nycman
 
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2003 1:01 am

Re: Building not registered

Postby TenantNet » Tue Feb 16, 2021 11:11 pm

I assume you mean DHCR (or what they call HCR) for rent stab units. The building was required to be registered once, in 1984 (or when any units became covered by rent stab). After that only the units need to be registered once a year, unless legally deregulated. And many were not legally deregulated.

So how long have you lived in the building? Is your initial lease (with the old LL) a rent stab lease? Did you get renewal leases back then? How many units in the building? Please answer these questions. Is the building subject to 421(a) or other tax abatement program? And have your or other units been deregulated according to the LL?

The first things to do (on the quiet - do not let the LL know you are poking around) is to get a DHCR history of your unit. Encourage other tenants to do the same. See https://hcr.ny.gov/most-common-rent-reg ... es-tenants -- and scroll down to "Access Your Apartments Rental History." Make sure you insist on getting the complete history back to 1984. Once you get it, you will have to analyze it to see what it says. But remember, rent histories only will say what the LL tells DHCR, so there are many false claims being made.

But once you have that, then you can research what really happened in the building and in the unit. You can also research the Dept. of Buildings and HPD databases.

Having said all this, and depending on what you find, if a LL fails to offer a renewal lease, then the rent simply does not go up. I would be careful about withholding rent without a good reason, especially now with COVID. Once this is all over, many tenants will end up owing large amounts of rent.
The Tenant Network(tm) for Residential Tenants
Information from TenantNet is from experienced non-attorney tenant
activists and is not considered legal advice.

Subscribe to our Twitter Feed @TenantNet
TenantNet
 
Posts: 10309
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2002 2:01 am
Location: New York City

Re: Building not registered

Postby nycman » Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:39 pm

Apartment is RS. The newish (2.5 year) landlord hasn’t registered the building with the HPD or the RS apartments with DHCR. I’m wondering what the angle is in not doing this.
nycman
 
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2003 1:01 am

Re: Building not registered

Postby TenantNet » Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:56 pm

Please answer the questions from above, plus how many units are in the building. Do not put any personally identifiable information on the public part of the forum. (we're not asking for personal information)
The Tenant Network(tm) for Residential Tenants
Information from TenantNet is from experienced non-attorney tenant
activists and is not considered legal advice.

Subscribe to our Twitter Feed @TenantNet
TenantNet
 
Posts: 10309
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2002 2:01 am
Location: New York City

Re: Building not registered

Postby nycman » Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:55 am

I’ve lived in the building 19 years. My lease is rent stabilized and I have always received renewal leases prior to this new landlord. There are 26 units in the building. About 16 units appear to have been deregulated, but not mine. There do not appear to be any other abatement programs in play.
nycman
 
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2003 1:01 am

Re: Building not registered

Postby TenantNet » Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:45 pm

Sorry for the delay.

OK so it sounds as if you are a legitimate RS tenant, and that the place does not have J-51 or 421(a) tax abatements.

In many cases the deregulated units are done so illegally, but you have to convince the tenants to research and file. Many just don't care.

So you know the LL must register the place once a year and offer you RS renewal leases on RTP-8 forms. See https://hcr.ny.gov/system/files/documen ... 6-2020.pdf and read the back of the form carefully.

The upside for you is that without a lease, your rent can't legally go up. You are still RS with all the protections, but sort of a hybrid month-to-month tenants. I'm assuming you pay the rent and they accept it - if not, then other things might be in play. But still, you have RS protections.

They must also file with HPD. I don't think the LL can commence a case in housing court without a HPD registration (but double-check that).

Can't say what the angle might be, but be aware of things happening in the area ... are there pressures to develop vacant lots or demolish buildings for luxury towers? Keep on top of all that.
The Tenant Network(tm) for Residential Tenants
Information from TenantNet is from experienced non-attorney tenant
activists and is not considered legal advice.

Subscribe to our Twitter Feed @TenantNet
TenantNet
 
Posts: 10309
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2002 2:01 am
Location: New York City

Re: Building not registered

Postby nycman » Wed Apr 21, 2021 1:52 pm

Thanks for the reply. I checked the HPD site and noticed this violation is now listed:

"§27-2107 adm code owner failed to file a valid registration statement with the department as required by adm code §27-2097 and is therefore subject to civil penalties, prohibited from certifying violations, and denied the right to recover possession of premises for nonpayment of rent until a valid registration statement is filed."
nycman
 
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2003 1:01 am

Re: Building not registered

Postby TenantNet » Wed Apr 21, 2021 2:11 pm

That's the HPD site (city housing), not DHCR (state housing). HPD doesn't really deal with rent stab issues. More info at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services- ... perty.page

All multiple dwellings of 3+ units must register with HPD. Failure to do so has certain penalties.

Also see https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/multiple-d ... t-301.html and https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/multiple-d ... t-302.html

This stuff gets pretty complicated, so an attorneys advice might be good to get. But failure to register with HPD might stop cold any lawsuit a LL brings against a tenant. (at least until they register).

Also, all rent stab UNITS (not buildings) must register with DHCR once a year. That is a different thing than the HPD requirement that applies to BUILDINGS (not units).
The Tenant Network(tm) for Residential Tenants
Information from TenantNet is from experienced non-attorney tenant
activists and is not considered legal advice.

Subscribe to our Twitter Feed @TenantNet
TenantNet
 
Posts: 10309
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2002 2:01 am
Location: New York City

Re: Building not registered

Postby nycman » Wed Apr 28, 2021 10:27 am

Thank you for the reply. Actually, the apartment itself has not been registered since 2017.
nycman
 
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2003 1:01 am

Re: Building not registered

Postby rentstabilized1 » Thu May 27, 2021 3:17 pm

hi NYCman, i noticed the same thing for another building i am thinking about moving and i was advised that LL sometimes do not register their building with the HPD if they are doing something in the dark like illegal conversion or overcharging. Did you get any more info on this, i am curious?
rentstabilized1
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue May 25, 2021 4:22 pm

Re: Building not registered

Postby nycman » Tue Jun 15, 2021 5:11 pm

The previous landlord illegally converted apartments and kept the registration up to date, so I don't think it's that. Instead, I think it's just gross incompetence. I wouldn't move into a building where the landlord couldn't be bothered to keep the registrations current. Landlords are just incredibly lazy in my experience and can't manage simple paperwork because it's oh so much work.
nycman
 
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2003 1:01 am

Re: Building not registered

Postby nycman » Tue Mar 08, 2022 9:44 pm

Just lazy it turns out. They finally registered the building last month!
nycman
 
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2003 1:01 am


Return to NYC Rent Regulated Apartments

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Majestic-12 [Bot] and 42 guests