Q I’ve lived in a rent-stabilized apartment in Brooklyn for over 25 years. Four years ago, I finally got a parking space, which is governed by a separate agreement attached to my lease.
Recently, I received notice that the building is being converted to a condominium under a noneviction plan. Will I be entitled to keep my space if I choose not to buy my apartment?
A Aaron Shmulewitz, a Manhattan co-op and condo lawyer, said it appears from the question that the parking space is an “ancillary use” to the apartment. As such, the same rights apply to the parking space and the apartment.
These would include the right to continue to lease the space under the protection of rent stabilization for as long as the tenant rents her apartment. The amount of rent increases will be governed by those regulations, and the tenant cannot be forced to buy the parking space in the conversion.
“As part of the condominium conversion, the building owner could sell her parking space to a third party, along with, or separate from, the tenant’s apartment,” Mr. Shmulewitz said.
Should that occur, he said, the tenant would have to pay her rent for her parking space (as well as for her apartment) to the investors who buy them. “Even if that occurs, the tenant’s rights and protections with regard to the parking space would continue,” he said.