For many people, an apartment in New York City’s Chelsea area is nothing more than a dream.
But one cabbie has managed to secure such a home for life – at no cost to himself.
Oltimdje Ouattara, a TLC-licensed driver, discovered an obscure legal loophole that enabled him to score a free room at the Chelsea Highline Hotel, an illegal hostel at 184 11th Ave in Manhattan.
Unbelievably, his rent is $0 a month – and he can stay in the apartment for as long as he likes.
Ouattara achieved the incredible deal via New York’s Single Room Occupancy law and the Rent Stabilization Code, which aim to stop low-income tenants in single rooms from facing big rent hikes.
He had been renting a room for $48 a night at the hotel before discovering that he could apply to become a permanent tenant and have his rent ‘stabilized’.
Ouattara filed an official request to be a permanent tenant at the building, which falls under the law because it was constructed before July 1, 1969.