"In 2010, 52 of the 53 units at 283-285 Albany Ave. were rent-stabilized, tax records show. As of early 2025, the building, which was constructed in 1941, had just 20 rent-stabilized apartments left. Some tenants believe the landlord falsely told the state they had made major improvements to their units in order to raise rents above deregulation thresholds."
"In the lawsuit filed Thursday, tenants allege that 283 Albany Equities LLC claimed to have completed expensive IAIs in order to raise rents above the threshold and remove their units from stabilization. In reality, they claim, those improvements were never made."
"In 2018, the legal regulated rent for apartment 6E jumped 186%, the suit claimed. To justify such an increase, the landlord would have had to make improvements worth more than $83,000. 'This is a huge amount of IAIs,' Sachar said."
A class action lawsuit filed by 13 residents of 283-285 Albany Ave. in Crown Heights alleges that their landlord, 283 Albany Equities LLC, fraudulently claimed to have completed expensive Individual Apartment Improvements (IAIs) to justify removing their units from rent stabilization. Between 2010 and early 2025, the building's rent-stabilized units dropped from 52 to 20. Tenants contend the improvements were never actually performed. Under New York rent stabilization law, landlords can increase rents following legitimate improvement projects, and units can be deregulated once rent exceeds certain thresholds. The lawsuit seeks restoration of legal rents and refunds for overcharges, citing a 186% rent increase in one unit in 2018 that would have required over $83,000 in improvements.
Read at Brooklyn Paper
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