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Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

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

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Re: Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

Postby Bouba2020 » Fri Nov 05, 2021 10:23 am

Also, the document the lawyer submitted states that the landlord combined 2 vacant apartments.
Even if true - the apartment was not vacant and it is confirmed in the rent history.
Even if the bathroom was added - I’m not sure it’s legal to charge “first rent” of $2000 up from $385 (scrie) or 509 legal rent with only 20,000 in renovations combined to 3 (!) apartments.
The certificate of occupancy is not changed. - there is a letter stating this that is on file with DOB.
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Re: Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

Postby TenantNet » Fri Nov 05, 2021 2:33 pm

If done legally, an owner may charge a "first rent" when the outside dimensions of an apartment are changed. Adding a room, i.e., expanding the unit to make it overall larger, would likely let the LL charge a first rent.

The theory is that an apartments history is based on the rent, service and dimensions of an existing apartment. Change the dimensions and you have a new apartment.

SCRIE doesn't matter; that's a benefit for a tenant.

If the unit was occupied, then they cannot create a new unit or first rent until a new tenant takes occupancy, in our opinion.

DHCR has a habit of ignoring things like Cert. of Occupancy. I'd speak with a tenant attorney.
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Re: Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

Postby Bouba2020 » Tue Nov 09, 2021 11:18 pm

Ok, this is crazy, but let me share what I discovered.

The landlord did not combine the 2 apartments when the tenant was there. The apartment indeed did not have a bathroom. The landlord has moved the door further into the corridor and extended a partition blocking of the utility room with the bathroom entirely, it basically got buried between 4 walls. To be clear, there was an apartment and there was a separate space with a separate door from the corridor which was a bathroom.

He basically only added 6 SF due to this door relocation and walls build up. He then changed the apartment number, adding letter A at the end. His lawyer is playing with words stating that “current number” of the apartment has bathroom while the other one lacked it. Yes, now I have a bathroom, but when the landlord increased the legal rent by $1500 - there was none.

It blew my mind when I saw this on architectural drawings. I wrote a reply stating the above to DHCR. I provided proofs like the architect drawings before and after, city permit citing the scope of work that mentions “ minor renovations to 3 floors, partition, plumbing and mechanical”, that costs $20,000. The certificates of occupancy for the last 50 years that show the number of rooms remained unchanged on this floor.

How illegal is that???
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Re: Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

Postby BubbaJoe123 » Thu Nov 11, 2021 12:51 pm

So, to summarize the timeline:

*The prior tenant lived in an apartment with no bathroom; they had to exit their apartment into the hallway, and then enter the bathroom. The legal rent on the apartment was $509.
*The prior tenant moved out.
*The landlord put up walls to incorporate the hallway between the apartment door and the bathroom door into the apartment, so that the bathroom was now inside the apartment.
*You then moved into the "new" apartment, which now includes the bathroom. The landlord charged you an initial rent of $2000.

Is this a correction description of the timeline?
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Re: Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

Postby Bouba2020 » Thu Nov 11, 2021 2:03 pm

Thanks for summarizing the timeline!
All looks good except for :
The prior tenant never moved out, he was registered with DHCR and was reissued a new lease for a changed apartment number by the landlord 6 month later with a “first lease rider” with the rent $2000, adding a rider stating preferential rent is 386.14 ( Scrie). He then continued his residency there for 4 more years. I can only imagine the landlord may have also collected the scrie benefits for the huge difference.
Than the apartment was put back on the market in 2006 for $1600. I assume this is when the landlord destroyed the wall and connected the bathroom to the given apartment.
I moved in 10 years after the old tenant was gone.
What frustrates me is the landlords scheme - he never let an olderly man use the bathroom! He’d rather have it buried than let a person enjoy the remainder of his life in comfort, yet collecting benefits from this!
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Re: Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

Postby Bouba2020 » Tue Mar 01, 2022 2:31 pm

Still no update from DHCR, and my lease is expiring soon.
What shall I do in this situation? Some people told me I should just stop paying rent, but I don't want to ruin my credit score. Shall I just sue my landlord?
Is there a general advice you can give to people with pending cases in DHCR?
I think a lot of readers may find this very helpful, as everyone who files a DHCR complaint is facing the same scenario - expiring lease/course of actions.
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Re: Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

Postby TenantNet » Tue Mar 01, 2022 3:30 pm

It's been about 5 months since the last post, and there are 21 posts in this thread. Can you summarize all this (in a very short way) so I won't have to reread it all again.
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Re: Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

Postby Bouba2020 » Tue Mar 01, 2022 5:01 pm

Sure, here is a summary of what's happening :
DHCR rent registration history shows a hike in rent with the same tenant from (approx.)350 to 2000.
The tenant is SCRIE, the rent marked PREFERENTIAL.
Nothing on DHCR history mentions any improvements to the apartment.
Foiled the docs from DHCR and see landlord's reply - claiming he combined 2 vacant apartments. One of the "apartments" is basically an utility bathroom. The original apartment was extended by 2 feet into the corridor.
According to the architectural drawings - the tenant did not even enjoy the newly added bathroom, as there was a wall built, which prohibits any access. The scope of work states the same : minor partition built, apartment entry door moved 2 feet outwards into the coridor. However the landlord gave him a "new lease" midterm saying that the legal rent is 2000 and "preferential" rent is (approx.) 350.
I sent my reply and am still waiting.
My lease is expiring soon, so I need an advice of how to proceed, given in consideration the fact the my case is still "INITIAL PROCESSING". It's going to be 2 years this year.
Thanks!
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Re: Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

Postby Bouba2020 » Sat Mar 05, 2022 4:59 pm

Any advice?
I’m sure a lot of people have been in this situation - lease expiring with DHCR case pending. :(
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Re: Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

Postby TenantNet » Sat Mar 05, 2022 5:56 pm

I think the issue is procedural on the lease expiration issue. A claim to DHCR would continue even if you leave the premises. If an overcharge, they should adjudicate that. If a service case, DHCR should make a decision if the service had been decreased, and if so, lower the rent as of the time of the application.

If the LL has not given you a renewal lease, you are still RS (although also a form of month-to-month tenancy that would continue the previous DHCR lease and all lease terms). You can complain to DHCR about that, but in our experience, DHCR is been very inconsistent with following the law on lease issues. Has the LL not given you a renewal lease offer?

Also, you just let things be and the rent would not go up absent a lease. However, that might lead to problems with SCRIE as they demand an actual lease after one year's leniency.

Whatever you do, do not think that the lack of a lease means you have to move. You do not. If for no other reason, the courts are backlogged. If you filed for ERAP, then you should have 12 months grace before they can even start a case.

Normally, when a LL changes the outside walls of a RS unit, this legally creates a new unit and starts a new rent history. If they added a room from somewhere, or combined units, that's how they get away with that. They can essentially raise it to market rent (although it would stay RS under the 2019 laws). Prior to 2019, that might lead to deregulation.

You say they extended the unit by two feet into the corridor in order to create a new bathroom. Did they reduce the width of the corridor, and by how much? How wide is the corridor now? I ask because that might be a reduction in egress and therefore illegal. Did they have DOB permits to do this? If not, it's illegal.

You say there was a wall built to deny the tenant access to the new bathroom. If that's the case, how do they get away with calling it part of the apartment? If there's no access to the new bathroom from the "new" apartment, how does one get into the bathroom, from the hall?

I don't think any lease can commence midterm ... the LL would have to wait until the old lease expired - assuming everything else was legal. This might be a case of fraud. But from our view, it's difficult to go further as we haven't seen the unit, photos, the drawings or DOB permits. We have only what you say above.

Do you know if the architect signed off on the project after it was completed. Some architects never see the completed jobs, or they might be in on the fraud.

Also a "minor" partition tells me it's an interior wall, not a wall that is on the perimeter of the apartment.

Have you consulted with an architect on this? They can give you details and would probably inspect your situation.

Since 2019, preferential rents have been greatly limited. But even before that, I don't think a preferential rent can start in the middle of a tenancy. See https://hcr.ny.gov/system/files/documen ... 9-2019.pdf
(this is the post 2019 Fact Sheet)
See here for the 2014 version: https://www.msnhlaw.com/docs/fact_sheet ... 125241.pdf
also
https://www.legalservicesnyc.org/storag ... nglish.pdf
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Re: Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

Postby Bouba2020 » Thu Mar 10, 2022 1:22 pm

Thanks for your detailed answer - I really appreciate it.
Yes, I've seen the drawings and showed it to some people who confirmed the bathroom was basically surrounded by walls.
There is no change to egress - the hallway is still pretty huge and the drawings confirm this.
The landlord must have opened the wall after the tenant has moved out/died. Not sure how DHCR will proceed as of right now - the apartment is different than before, due to the landlord ultimately destroying the wall and providing bath and a small kitchenette after deregulating the apartment illegally and fraudulently.
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Re: Landlord Changed apartment number and deregulated it

Postby TenantNet » Thu Mar 10, 2022 3:23 pm

I'm somewhat confused here. You you have drawings (even hand-drawn) of the apartment, hall and bathroom both before an after? If the bathroom has no entrance from within the apartment, then it's not part of the apartment and the outer walls have not changed, undermining the deregulation. Please upload some sort of graphic using the Private Mail (PM button). Do not post on the public area of the forum.
"Huge" means nothing (and we can't read your mind). LL's just can't build into a hallway, even if it is wide. There has to be permits and written plans with DOB. It might be considered a reduction in egress. Halls have to have a minimum width.
Is there an active case with DHCR? If so, what kind of case?
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