In New York City
Regulated
tenants’ rights include:
- The right to a lease renewal and protection
against baseless eviction
- The right to know your legal rent
and to obtain the complete rent history of your apartment from the state
housing agency, New York Homes and Community Renewal (HCR)
- The right to complain to HCR if
you think you are being overcharged or your rights are being violated
- The right to pass the lease of
your apartment on to a relative if that relative has been living with you
for two years (one year if you are a senior or have a disability)
How do I know if my apartment is
rent regulated?
There are two
types of rent regulation: rent stabilization and rent control
1)
If
you pay less than $2,500 in monthly rent and live in a building with six or
more apartments that was built before 1974, you may be rent stabilized. About
one million units in New York City
Note:
You can be rent regulated in apartments renting for more than $2,500 if your
landlord receives a 421a tax credit or a J-51 tax credit. You will be rent regulated for the length of
time your landlord is receiving the benefits.
Additionally, if you’ve been living in your apartment for some time, the
rent may increase over $2,500 and you would still be regulated.
2)
If
you have been living in your apartment since before 1971 and your building was
built before 1947, you are probably rent controlled. About 38,000 tenants in New York City
Call
HCR if you have questions about your apartment’s status.
How are rent increases
calculated in rent stabilized apartments?
Before you
moved into your stabilized apartment, your landlord likely did many calculations
to come up with your rent.
To determine
a new tenant’s monthly rent, landlords are allowed to increase the monthly rent
of the previous tenant by 20% and add 1/60 of the cost of improvements done
while the apartment was vacant, or 1/40 in buildings under 35 units. They also
get a bonus if the previous tenant lived in the apartment for more than 8
years.
If you have
lived in your apartment for fewer than four years, call HCR to find out what
the previous tenant of your apartment paid. Submit an overcharge complaint if
you think your rent was raised illegally-- if you were overcharged, you could
get your money back, potentially with damages, and get your rent rolled back to
the appropriate amount.
Note:
While there is generally a four year statute of limitations on overcharge
complainants, even if you have lived in your apartment for more than four
years, it may be worthwhile to get the rental history, because a recent court
case suggested that HCR might have to look beyond four years if there was
evidence that the landlord engaged in a fraudulent scheme.
Once you sign
your lease, the landlord is allowed to raise your rent only in three instances:
- When you renew your lease, the
landlord can raise the rent according to the amount set annually by the
Rent Guidelines Board (RGB). Members of the RGB are appointed by the Mayor;
their job is to decide how much landlords of stabilized apartments can
raise rents when tenants renew their leases.
- If your landlord receives
permission from HCR to charge a Major Capital Improvement (MCI) rent
increase he can raise your rent in the middle of your lease term. This is
a permanent rent increase charged to tenants in buildings where landlords
have made a substantial renovation that benefited the whole building.
- To make an individual apartment improvement that you authorize. This is also a permanent rent increase.
How are rent increases
calculated in rent controlled apartments?
Rent
increases for rent controlled tenants currently follow the “maximum base rent” (MBR)
system. A maximum base rent is established for each apartment and adjusted
every two years to reflect changes in the landlord’s operating costs. Landlords
are entitled to raise rents up to 7.5 percent each year until they reach the
MBR, but tenants can stop the rent increases if they are not receiving
essential services.
Does my landlord have to renew the
lease for my stabilized apartment?
Landlords
must offer renewal leases three to five months before your lease expires. If
you don’t receive a lease renewal in this period, send a certified letter to
the landlord requesting it. If you don’t
receive your lease soon after this, file a complaint with DHCR.
How are apartments removed from
rent regulation?
When a stabilized
tenant moves out of his or her apartment and the legal regulated rent reaches
$2,500, the apartment can be removed from regulation. The landlord can then
rent this apartment for whatever amount he or she wants. The new tenant will
not have the right to renew the lease or have protection from future rent
increases. This mechanism for deregulating apartments is called vacancy
deregulation.
Another type
of decontrol is high rent high income deregulation. If the legal regulated rent
reaches $2,500 and the current tenant’s household income exceeds $200,000 for
two consecutive years, the apartment can be removed from regulation. In order
to deregulate apartments in this way, landlords must ask tenants to complete an
Income Certification Form.
Since the
rent of deregulated apartments can be raised to market levels, landlords often
take advantage of loopholes to get their apartments out of regulation. This
means less affordable housing for average New Yorkers.
Contact HCR
Main helpline: 1-866-ASK-DHCR
All rent information: 718-739-6400 / RentInfo@nysdhcr.gov / www.dhcr.state.ny.us
Bronx Office: One Fordham Plaza , 2nd Fl., Bronx , NY 10458
Brooklyn Office: 55 Hanson Pl. Brooklyn , NY 11217
Upper Manhattan
Office
(North of 110th): 163 West 125th Street New York ,
NY 10027
Lower Manhattan
Office (South
of 110th): 25 Beaver Street New York , NY 10004
Queens Office: Gertz Plaza, 92-31
Union Hall St Jamaica
Take Action! Organize for Affordable Housing!
Tenants across the state are fighting for their rights.
Contact Tenants & Neighbors to learn how to get involved.
Contact Tenants & Neighbors to learn how to get involved.
236 West 27th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10001-5906
212-608-4320
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