Hi TenantNet:
I found your forum/various posts online and figured I should post here directly to seek out your advice on a rent regulated housing matter.
At the behest of my ex-girlfriend, I moved into her 300sqft old studio apartment in the West Village once she vacated. At the time we were dating, we both thought that the rent seemed unusually high for a 1860s townhouse (there are only 6 or 7 units in the townhouse) and figured something might be fishy about the rent being charged. Particularly, we noticed that the only public listing for her unit on Streeteasy showed the unit rented for 2,250 back in 2011 and in 2021 my ex-girlfriend was charged exactly 2,250 before they jacked it up $3000 (which is what I am currently paying). I know Streeteasy can be unreliable but this is the only data point we have as rents charged in the past for the unit. I recently signed a NEW one year lease for this unit for $3000 a month, I am the only person on the lease. There is no mention of rent regulation (stabilized or control) in the lease. It reads like the usual fair market lease.
This week I received the rent history for the unit and I think what I found is very interesting.
The only rent listing on the rent history is from 1984 for a RENT CONTROLLED (RC) tenant who paid $308 in 1984. Based on my research, that tenant died in 1998.
On the rent history, every year since 1984 until 2023 was marked as *RENT CONTROL - REG NOT REQUIRED*. It was registered as *RENT CONTROL - REG NOT REQUIRED* in 2023. I've read in other posts that RC units only needed to be registered once but does that mean that the DHCR in all subsequent years automatically registers it as RC - REG NOT REQUIRED? Or is this moniker self reported by the landlord? Would the 4 year "look-back" period preclude me from taking action on this?
I spoke with someone over at the DHCR who recommended that I file a complaint. The DHCR contact surmised that it could be that the unit was deregulated LEGALLY at some point or perhaps illegally but it would be impossible without investigating.
I intend on seeking legal counsel from a tenant's rights lawyer but I figured I could reach out to you first to get preliminary feedback.
Is it possible that my "real rent" is actually much lower than $3000? For what it's worth, my townhouse is run by a management company and not by a mom and pop landlord. Why would they register the apartment as RENT CONTROLLED even in 2023 if it isn't? Something does not seem right.
What are my options here?