The Hearings Unit processes all applications filed with the Loft Board. There are twenty-five different types of applications that can be filed. Applications may be delivered personally, mailed, or faxed to the Loft Board during business hours (M-F, 9am-4pm). All applications must be on the appropriate Loft Board application form and, where applicable, the application fee should be submitted at the time the application is filed. An application is not complete without the appropriate fee and will not be processed.

FAQs
What happens after an application is filed?
The application is assigned a docket number and served by Loft Board staff on the affected parties listed on the application unless Loft Board rules require that the application be served on the affected parties by the applicant prior to filing the application with the Loft Board. If an applicant is required to serve the application, an affidavit of service attesting that the service was made must be filed with the application. The application is not considered complete until the affidavit of service is filed. If an application fee is charged for the filing of the application, the application fee should be filed with the application.

What can I do if my application is rejected without processing?
Applications usually are rejected without processing as a result of curable defects in the application, or other minor problems. In most cases, you may re-file the application after the defects have been corrected. However, if your application is subject to a filing deadline pursuant to the Loft Board's rules, (e.g., a reconsideration application must be filed within thirty-days of the date the Loft Board mails a copy of its order to the parties in accordance with § 1-07 of the Loft Board's rules), the re-filing of the application must occur within the rule-specified deadline, or the application will forever be time-barred.

What happens if I fail to answer an application timely?
According to the Loft Board's rules (see section 1-06(i)(2)), if a party fails to file a timely answer, that party will be determined to be in default, but that party may move for relief from the default determination within thirty (30) days from the date of the mailing of the notice of default. Any motion to vacate the default must be served on all affected parties prior to filing the motion with the Loft Board and the motion must establish "good cause" for the failure to file a timely answer. Good cause is established by the presentation of a reasonable explanation for the failure to file a timely answer and a summary of the defense that will be presented in the case if the default is excused. The defense must not be frivolous. An affidavit of service attesting that the motion papers were served on all of the affected parties must be filed with the motion to vacate the default.

How is a building removed from the jurisdiction of the New York City Loft Board?
Once an owner is issued a residential certificate of occupancy from the New York City Department of Buildings, the owner must apply for removal from the Loft Board's jurisdiction. The issuance of the certificate of occupancy does not automatically remove the building from the Loft Board's jurisdiction. The Loft Board must issue a removal order. The most important consideration regarding the removal application is the Loft Board's determination of the initial legal rent for all of the IMD units in the building.

• Tenant occupied units: If the IMD units are occupied by tenants, the owner may file a Notice of RGB Increase form ("RGB Notice"), which indicates the owner's intent to collect the Rent Guidelines Board ("RGB") rent increases applicable for each IMD unit. Affected parties have forty-five days to respond to the RGB Notice.
  
  If an owner does not file the RGB Notice, the owner will not be entitled to the RGB rent increases, but the owner may file other information indicating the current rent of each IMD unit. The IMD tenants must confirm in writing the rent alleged by the owner. Once the Loft Board has sufficient information to determine the initial legal rent for each IMD unit, the removal application will be processed, resulting in a final order of removal from the Loft Board's jurisdiction. The order will direct the owner to register the building with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and with the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal. The former IMD units will become rent stabilized units.
  
  
• Owner-occupied units: If a building has been converted into cooperative or condominium ownership and if any of the IMD units are owner-occupied, the cooperative or condominium association must file a Co-op/Condominium Exemption Form with the Loft Board to establish that the owner-occupied units are not being rented. These units will be exempt from rent regulation. Consequently, the Loft Board will not set an initial legal regulated rent for these owner-occupied units.
  
  The Co-op/Condominium Exemption Form should be filed with the first two-pages and the filing number of the offering plan that was submitted to the New York State Attorney General's office for the building's ownership conversion. If an offering plan does not exist, a no-action letter from the New York State Attorney General's office is required before the removal application will be processed.
  
  Where a building has been converted into cooperative or condominium ownership, but some of the IMD units are not owner-occupied, (i.e. some of the unit(s) are being rented), the owner of each tenant-occupied IMD unit must follow the same procedures as outlined above for tenant-occupied IMD units and the co-op/ condominium association must follow the procedures outlined above for owner-occupied units. The Loft Board will establish the initial legal regulated rent for the tenant-occupied units and exempt from rent regulation the owner-occupied units.
  
  
• A building that has not been issued a residential certificate of occupancy may be removed from the jurisdiction of the Loft Board if 1) the rights to the IMD unit have been sold to the owner, or the improvements to the IMD unit have been sold to the owner (with some exceptions), or the IMD units have been declared abandoned by a Loft Board order, 2) and the owner has filed a Declaration of Intent form for each IMD unit indicating the owner's intent to convert all of the IMD units in the building back to commercial use. The procedures and requirements regarding sales of rights to an IMD unit are governed by Multiple Dwelling Law ("MDL") § 286(12) and § 2-10 of the Loft Board's rules. Section 286(6) of the MDL and § 2-07 of the Loft Board's rules govern the sale of improvements made to an IMD unit and section 2-10(f) governs the procedures for applications seeking a finding of abandonment for an IMD unit.