First Department Revives Tenants' Rent-Stabilization Claim in Petrolawicz v. Ando Realty

Oct 2, 2026 · @Bikram Singh

On October 1, 2026, a unanimous five-justice panel of the Appellate Division, First Department, handed our clients a significant appellate win in Petrolawicz v. Ando Realty LLC (Appeal No. 7109). The court threw out the landlord's summary judgment victory, revived our clients' rent-stabilization claim, and vacated the landlord's award of attorneys' fees.

Bikram Singh of Singh & Rani LLP represented the plaintiffs-tenants on appeal. The result restores our clients' right to prove that their apartment was never lawfully removed from rent regulation.

The Dispute

Our clients' apartment was once rent-controlled. According to the landlord, the last rent-controlled rent was about $620 per month.

The landlord claimed that when the unit left rent control, it set a first rent of $2,100 per month beginning in 2011. That figure was just $100 above the $2,000 deregulation threshold then in effect under former Rent Stabilization Law § 26-504.2(a). On that basis, the landlord treated the apartment as permanently deregulated.

Our clients sued for a declaratory judgment that the apartment remains rent-stabilized. In October 2025, the Supreme Court, New York County, sided with the landlord. It dismissed the complaint and granted the landlord's counterclaim for attorneys' fees. We appealed.

What the First Department Held

The court reaffirmed two principles that protect New York tenants, then held the landlord to its burden of proof.

A deregulation challenge has no expiration date during a tenancy. Citing Thurman v. Sullivan Properties, L.P., 226 A.D.3d 453 (1st Dep't 2024), and the Court of Appeals' decision in Liggett v. Lew Realty LLC, 42 N.Y.3d 415 (2024), the court confirmed that a tenant may challenge an apartment's claimed deregulated status at any point in the tenancy. Courts may look at rent history beyond four years to decide whether the unit is still stabilized.

The landlord's proof was inadmissible. The landlord supported its motion with an affidavit from a member of its managing agent. The court held that this affidavit failed to lay a proper foundation for the documents as business records. Without admissible proof of the $620 controlled rent or the $2,100 first decontrolled rent, the landlord never made a prima facie case.

Under Winegrad v. New York University Medical Center, 64 N.Y.2d 851 (1985), that failure was fatal. The landlord's motion had to be denied regardless of what the opposing papers showed.

Why This Matters

The practical result is a full reset in our clients' favor. The dismissal of their complaint is gone, the attorneys' fee award against them is gone, and the case returns to the Supreme Court for our clients to press their claim that the apartment remains rent-stabilized.

The decision also carries a lesson for every tenant in a supposedly deregulated apartment:

• A landlord's claim that a unit was lawfully deregulated years ago is not self-proving. The landlord must back it with admissible evidence.
• Old rent records do not become untouchable simply because time has passed. Under Thurman and Liggett, the question of regulatory status stays open throughout the tenancy.
• Procedural rigor wins cases. Holding an opponent to the rules of evidence can be as decisive as any substantive argument.

Talk to Us About Your Apartment

If your landlord says your apartment is deregulated, you may have more rights than you think. Singh & Rani LLP represents tenants in rent-stabilization, overcharge, and deregulation disputes in Housing Court, Supreme Court, and on appeal. Bikram Singh represented the plaintiffs-tenants in Petrolawicz v. Ando Realty LLC.

Contact us at (212) 729-6920 or bsingh@singhranilaw.com. Our office is at 5 Penn Plaza, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10001.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This post is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.