It is often the case that a tenant defaults in a luxury deregulation proceeding, and that the Division of Housing and Community Renewal’s (DHCR) rent administrator issues an order of deregulation. Although the governing statute appears to mandate a default if the tenant fails to answer, or answers late, Court of Appeals authority authorizes DHCR to forgive a default for “good cause shown.” As the DHCR orders discussed below establish, DHCR will frequently forgive tenant defaults and remand the proceeding to the Rent Administrator for a determination on the merits.
DHCR’s capacity for forgiveness, however, is not unlimited. In several recent cases, DHCR has refused to vacate a default, and has ordered that the apartment be deregulated.
