While Mrs. Lee was still working, her rent reached $366 a month.

Because the ceiling also rises, some rents still have not reached it.

A vacant apartment remains regulated unless the monthly rent has reached $2,000.

In 1994, the Council passed a law that allows apartments to be decontrolled when the rent reaches $2,000 a month.

His rent today has reached $1,600 a month.

"The company is doing this because, when the rent reaches $2,000, apartments become destabilized," he said.

When the rent reaches $2,000 a month, the apartment falls out of the regulated system and can be rented at market rates.

Even if the writer met the income threshold for two years running, and the rent reaches $2,000, deregulation is not automatic.

When the rent reaches $880 in January it will be at 80 percent of market value, he said.

Once the legal rent reaches $2,000, the actual rent can be whatever the market will bear.