ALTERATIONS TO APARTMENTS 

Landlord’s Addition of 20 Square Feet to Unit’s Bathroom Didn’t Create New Apartment

Landlord applied to the DHCR for a ruling that it was entitled to charge a first rent for a newly created apartment. The DHCR ruled against landlord, who then filed an Article 78 court appeal, claiming that the DHCR’s ruling was arbitrary and unreasonable. 

The court ruled against landlord, noting that an appeals court had previously described the test for whether apartment alterations qualify for first rent as “reconfiguration plus obliteration of the prior apartment’s particular identity.” The court found that the DHCR reasonably determined that the addition of 20 square feet of space in the unit’s bathroom that previously belonged to the building’s hallway, in order to provide space for a laundry machine in the apartment, did not significantly alter the outer dimensions of the original apartment such that landlord could charge a first rent. There also was no showing that the apartment had been so reconfigured that its identity had been obliterated.  

• 186 Norfolk, LLC v. DHCR: Index No. 158325/2024, 2025 NY Slip Op 32458(U), Index No. 158325/2024 (Sup. Ct. NY Co. 7/3/25)

DAMAGES TO APARTMENTS

Tenant Damages to Apartment Went Beyond Ordinary Wear and Tear

Landlord sued former tenant and her lease guarantor in a Suffolk County small claims court, seeking $2,980 for damages to the apartment after tenant moved out. Tenant in turn counterclaimed for loss of personal property because landlord disposed of a chair she left behind. 

The trial court ruled for landlord but awarded only  $1,490. No damages were awarded to the tenant, whose guarantor appealed and lost. The trial court reasonably determined that damage to the apartment went beyond ordinary wear and tear, based on property manager testimony that the entire apartment had to be repainted and moldings fixed in two places. The super also spent eight hours cleaning the apartment. Landlord submitted paid receipts from a painting company and the super. In addition, tenant’s lease provided that landlord had the right to dispose of personal property left in the unit when tenant moved out. The judgment rendered “substantial justice” between the parties and was upheld. 

• DJ Gateway, LLC v. Kelly: Case No. 2024-881-SC, 2025 NY Slip Op 51161(U)(App. T. 2 Dept.; 7/10/25)

 REQUIRED SERVICES

DHCR Approves Change from Electrical Inclusion to Exclusion Through Submetering

Landlord applied to the DHCR for permission to convert required building services for 113 rent-regulated tenants by terminating inclusion of electric current as a service included in tenants’ rent to electrical exclusion by substituted submetering of electricity in apartments. The DRA ruled for landlord, and approved the installation of individual meters in the building’s apartments.

One tenant appealed and lost. The DRA’s order outlined the requirements for this conversion, which were consistent with applicable regulations and policy. Upon conversion, tenants would pay their own electric bills and, when the conversion was completed, landlord would send each tenant two consecutive monthly summaries of their electric use and its cost. Tenants’ rents would be adjusted in accordance with the DHCR’s Operational Bulletin 2014-1 updates concerning electrical exclusion by submetering. The DRA’s order also permitted landlord to bill tenants an administrative charge of up to $4 per meter per month for meter reading and billing. After conversion, the cost of electricity and the service fee would not be part of the legal regulated rent, and billing disputes would not be subject to complaints made to the DHCR. Instead, any complaints about electricity charges must be handled under Public Service Commission requirements.

The DRA also ruled that tenants receiving SCRIE or DRIE exemptions on the date of the conversion would not be responsible for paying electric charges although the meters could be installed in their units. Finally, landlord wouldn’t be permitted to collect any previously authorized appliance charges to offset the cost of electricity for operating appliances that consume large quantities of electricity. 

• Francis: DHCR Adm. Rev. Docket No. MS610013RT (7/9/25)