They said they had nothing available, and they suggested that his rent ceiling of $1,000 was unrealistic.

Where owners hold apartments vacant, it can only be because below-market rent ceilings make it economical to do so.

The existing certificate program also has been criticized recently for having rent ceilings so low that no apartments that qualify can be found.

County officials have asked the Federal Government to raise the rent ceilings.

But the rent ceiling on West 46th Street is significantly lower, and the plain glass facade of the Hakimian building reflects its modest surroundings.

Under state law, landlords are prohibited from soliciting payments for rent-regulated apartments above the legal rent ceilings.

The Republicans would also remove rent ceilings for households earning $175,000 a year or more under a plan called luxury decontrol.

Sparks showered down from the rent ceiling.

The authority, the largest in the country with more than 400,000 tenants, last fixed rent ceilings, beyond which no tenant's rent could climb, in 1989.

The cost to the city, which rises each year as legal rent ceilings rise, reached $91 million last year.