I have obtained a number of DHCR orders against our landlord one of which was an unlawful lease renewal.
You probably mean failure to offer or execute a lease renewal.
The landlord refused to comply with the DHCR order. For a variety of reasons I did not bother to file a non-compliance complaint.
As long as the LL fails to offer/execute a renewal, then your rent doesn't go up (and you still maintain your RS status). I assume that would be considered a good thing. Filing a non-compliance complaint with DHCR is not always the best option.
My landlord, a non-profit, pays all fines/penalties with your tax dollar. They hardly care. We have overcharges, all kinds of complaints to file.. a full time job for me. Yes, this is harassment for which I also can...file a complaint. Now, we will be seeing assistance from the TPU and the AG.
We haven't heard a lot of positive things about TPU or the AG's initiative. Don't get your hopes up.
I received yet another unlawful renewal lease.
If you received a renewal offer, then how is it unlawful?
You've thrown in too much information, and I can't follow it all. If the LL failed to properly file a registration, then that is actionable by DHCR. As you probably know, there is a 4 year statute of limitations on rent complaints, but case law is that clear fraud by the LL allow you to go beyond the 4 years.
You should have the other tenants in the building also get their rent histories and see if there are patterns of non-registration. Does the not-for-profit own or manage other buildings? If so, look at them as well.
Understand if the LL has a lot of units, they usually have a person send out all the registrations at once, and have records of that. They might have cert. mail records or certificate of mailings, or statements by a professional mailing house. You can FOIL DHCR for any records that mailings of registrations were actually done.
Can you get a good lawyer who can give the NFP agita? A lot of tenants can help get an attorney from Legal Aid or Legal Services. That depends on what part of the city you are in, how many low-income tenants are involved and which agency you approach.