State and local laws limit your landlord’s right to increase the rent in your rent-stabilized apartment.
How do I know if my apartment is rent stabilized?
Generally, your apartment is rent-stabilized if it is in a building with six or more apartments that was built before January 1, 1974. Apartments located in buildings that have been converted to cooperatives (“co-ops”) or that receive some form of state or federal subsidy will usually not be rent-stabilized.
To find out if your apartment is rent-stabilized, contact the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). This agency is responsible for the supervision and development of affordable low and moderate housing in New York. DHCR is located at 55 Hanson Place, 7th Floor, Brooklyn and can be reached at (718) 722-4778.
How are landlords allowed to increase the rent?
Four kinds of rent increases are allowed for rent-stabilized tenants:
1. Vacancy Allowances
Generally, the rent for your first lease period is determined by adding a “vacancy” percentage increase plus a “renewal” percentage increase onto the rent that the previous tenant paid. The amounts of the vacancy and renewal increases are stated in the Rent Guidelines Order that covers the first day of your lease. Each year there is a new Rent Guideline Order; some years, no vacancy allowances are allowed. You can get a copy of Rent Guideline Orders at DHCR or by calling the New York City Rent Guidelines Board at (212) 385-2934.
2. Lease Renewal Increases
If you stay in your rent stabilized apartment after your first lease expires, your landlord must offer you a renewal lease which gives you a choice between a one or two-year lease. She can charge you a renewal increase but not a vacancy increase if you were the tenant during the previous lease period. Renewal lease increases are also set by the Rent Guidelines Order covering the first day of your renewal lease.
3. Major Capital Improvement (MCI) Increases
If the landlord makes building-wide repairs or improvements, she may be able to increase the rent for all the apartments in your building. This is called a Major Capital Improvement (MCI) increase. To get a building-wide rent increase your landlord must get an order from the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). DHCR will only approve an MCI increase if the work done meets several requirements:
- The work must directly or indirectly benefits all tenants.
- The work must be for the operation, preservation, and maintenance of the building.
- The work must be building-wide, such as replacing windows in all apartments.
The MCI increase cannot be obtained for repairs done to the building.
In a rent-stabilized apartment, the MCI increase cannot exceed 6% of your annual rent at the time that your landlord applied for the increase. If the MCI increase is more than 6% of your rent, the remainder of the increase will take effect in subsequent years, but no more than 6% per year.
The landlord must file an application with DHCR for the increase within two years after making the improvements. After the landlord files the application, tenants are notified and will have a chance to respond to the application and explain why the increase should not be allowed. Sometimes a landlord cannot collect an MCI increase even if DHCR has approved the application. For example, no increase can be collected if DHCR has found that the landlord is not maintaining essential services in the building or if DHCR issued a building-wide rent reduction order before it issued an order approving the MCI increase.
4. Individual Apartment Increases
Your landlord can increase the rent for your apartment if she increases services for your apartment, provides new appliances or equipment, or otherwise improves your apartment. Your landlord can increase your rent only by 1/40th of the cost of the improvement. A landlord cannot increase the rent for making repairs to the apartment. To get a 1/40th increase for the apartment in which you are now living, your landlord must get written consent from you for the improvement. If your landlord made improvements while the apartment was vacant, the landlord does not need your consent to raise the rent.
You may challenge a 1/40th increase in housing court or file a rent overcharge complaint with DHCR. Your landlord must have bills, receipts, and other documents to prove that she made improvements and to prove the cost of the improvements.
What can I do if I think that my landlord has increased my rent illegally?
If your landlord has illegally raised your rent, you can challenge the rent in Housing Court located at 141 Livingston Street, or you can file an overcharge complaint with DHCR.
If possible, talk to a lawyer or advocate before you file an overcharge complaint with DHCR because you may not be able to challenge your rent in housing court after you have filed a complaint with DHCR.
Can I challenge illegal rent increases that occurred before I moved into the apartment?
You may be able to challenge an illegal rent increase that happened before you moved into the apartment. If the landlord illegally raised the rent for the previous tenant then your rent will be higher as a result. To find out if an illegal rent increase occurred, you must first find out the rent that previous tenants paid by getting a copy of your apartment’s rent registration records from DHCR. The rent history will list the name of tenants, lease periods and rent paid for every year beginning with 1984. With the help of an advocate if possible, find out if the rent increases taken by the landlord were calculated according to the relevant vacancy, lease renewal, and other increases. If they exceed the legal increases allowed, you may be subject to an overcharge.
What if an illegal rent increase happened many years ago?
You generally may not be able to challenge a rent increase that occurred more than four years prior to the filing of your complaint, but you should call an attorney for possible exemptions.
Where can I get more information?
Division of Housing and Community Renewal
55 Hanson Place, 7th Floor, Brooklyn
(718) 739-6400 or (718) 722-4778,
e-mail: RentInfo (at) dhcr.state.ny (dot) us
New York City Rent Guideline Board
(212) 385-2934
Or visit these websites:
http://www.sbls.org/www.dhcr.state.ny.us
http://www.sbls.org/www.housingnyc.com
http://www.sbls.org/www.tenant.net
