Removing Rent Stabilization?
Hello, I purchased a Brownstone a few years ago that has ten units including my own. I rent the nine (Class B) on the upper floors while living in the only Class A, but it is an absolute nightmare. They are all SROs and the building is Rent Stabilized. I finally acquired a Certificate of…
Hello, I purchased a Brownstone a few years ago that has ten units including my own. I rent the nine (Class B) on the upper floors while living in the only Class A, but it is an absolute nightmare. They are all SROs and the building is Rent Stabilized. I finally acquired a Certificate of Non Harassment a while ago after an epic battle with HPD. However, ever since the beginning it has been a constant war with my tenants who are impossible to evict with the regulations, and I am tired of the struggle. What I am looking for desperately is someone who can tell me how to remove Rent Stabilization. I see from the definition that it applies to buildings built between 1947 and 1974 and that have “six units or more”, and I was wondering if I were to convert the nine units that I rent down to five or less, would that remove the Rent Stabilization? If not, is there another way? Someone please help! Thank you.
Start making capital improvements to the building and pass the costs along as additional rent increases on top of the allowed percentage.
Manhattanite, there is nothing to protect a co-op against a truly dedicated deadbeat. Fortunately there are not many of them out there but all the laws are written so as to protect the rights of the tenant, whether it is a rental, a co-op, or a condo. Judges evict only as a last resort after lengthy processes, and then, get this, sometimes the sheriff, who is the entity that actually carries out the eviction, refuses to do so for any one of a dozen reasons. A tenant can feign chest pains, and bingo! they have another three months occupancy. I really should write a book.
I agree with Benson’s assessment….this can’t be a real post.
Rob — It’s not yet 3000. Paterson just proposed that in the last week or two.
Before trying to do anything, consult with an attorney who understands this very byzantine part of the law. IIRC, SROs have there own sets of protection that might prevent the owner-occupancy route absent certificates of non-harassment.
I think also that petebklyn is right — any apartments will remain stabilized in perpetuity unless and until the apartment does not exist anymore. To change the apartments, they need to be lawfully vacated first. In other words, even if you reduce some of the apartments, the remaining apartments will be stabilized. I have no idea whethere it is the units or the building that continue with SRO status. Talk to an attorney.
buyouts
Minard – good point about coop deadbeats, who are protected by tenant law. But do you know if a coop can avoid having to go to court by requiring mandatory mediation to settle suits?
I have spent the last six months shopping for a coop and reading board minutes, proprietary leases and bylaws. It was clear that many buildings have been run into the ground by tenants (almost always lawyers!). Surely there has to be a way to avoid this.
sell.
You need to speak to an attorney – a good one who is well versed in all of the stuff you are hearing here, and one who can give you good advice upfront rather than just taking your money for a long series of fruitless actions that will just make the hole you’ve dug deeper and deeper.
another fun fact that most newbies to NY real estate do not know is how hard it is to evict someone from a co-op, yes a co-op, if they do not pay their maintenance. It can take years through the courts to first evict and then take over the shares. Someone who knows how to play the system can drag out the process for ten years or more. Buyer beware.