A rent stabilized tenant may request from the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) a printout of the rent registration information on file for the tenant's apartment. The rent registration printout will show the rents the building owner registered with the DHCR for the tenant's apartment for the last four years. The printout and this guide will assist the tenant in reviewing the rental history of his or her apartment. The rent registration printout may be obtained by visiting a DHCR Borough Rent Office and by providing the necessary proof of identity.

DHCR recommends that if a tenant has reason to believe that the rent charged exceeds the lawful rent, he or she should discuss this with the building's owner or managing agent before filing an overcharge complaint. If the tenant is unable to resolve the problem with the owner, he or she may file an overcharge complaint with the DHCR. An overcharge complaint form may be obtained either from the agency's website at www.nysdhcr.gov, by calling the DHCR's Rent Infoline at (718) 739-6400, or by visiting a Borough Rent Office.

A tenant's complaint must be filed with the DHCR within four years of the first overcharge alleged. A tenant who fails to comply with this time limit for filing an overcharge complaint will be unable to challenge the lawfulness of the rent.

Four common ways owners may adjust rents are:

1. Vacancy Lease Rent Increases

When a person rents a rent stabilized apartment for the first time, the owner and the tenant sign a vacancy lease.

The new tenant (also called the vacancy tenant) must be given the choice of a one- or two-year lease term. Generally, the rent the owner may charge for a vacancy lease cannot exceed the last legal regulated rent plus the applicable vacancy increases. The rent may also be increased for lawful Individual Apartment Improvements and/or Major Capital Improvements.
With the lease, a tenant should receive a Rent Stabilization Lease Rights Rider that states how the rent was computed and asserts that any increases are lawful.

The vacancy increases are as follows:

For Vacancy Leases Starting Between	Term of Lease
For Vacancy Leases Starting Between	1 Year	2 year
10/1/03 - 9/30/04	17 %	20 %
10/1/04 - 9/30/05	17 %	20 %
10/1/05 - 9/30/06 (see note 1)	17.25 %	20 %
10/1/05 - 9/30/06 (see note 2)	17.75 %	20 %
10/1/06 - 9/30/07	17 %	20 %
10/1/07 - 9/30/08	17.25 %	20 %
10/1/08 - 9/30/09	16%	20%
10/1/09 - 9/30/10 (see note 1)	17%	20%
10/1/09 - 9/30/10 (see note 2)	17.5%	20%

Note 1: Heat is provided by owner at no charge to the tenant.
Note 2: Tenant pays for their own heat.

Other Lawful Vacancy Increases

If the owner did not collect a permanent vacancy increase within eight years of the new vacancy lease then, in addition to the percentage increase set forth above, the owner is also entitled to collect a further vacancy increase equal to 0.6 percent multiplied by the number of years since the collection of the last permanent increase.
If the previous legal rent was less than $300.00 per month then, in addition to such vacancy increases set forth above, the owner is also entitled to collect a further increase of $100.00 per month.
If the previous legal rent was between $300.00 per month and $500.00 per month, the owner is entitled to collect a vacancy increase equal to the greater of the combined vacancy increases described above or $100.00 per month.
If the owner makes improvements to the apartment while it is vacant, the owner is also entitled to collect a rent increase equal to 1/40th of the cost of the improvements.

Example

The following example illustrates the application of some of the above rules. Tenant A paid a vacancy increase upon moving in, lived in the apartment for ten years and most recently paid a legal rent of $510.00 per month. Tenant B moves into the apartment pursuant to a two-year vacancy lease that starts on November 1, 2008. The owner is allowed to collect a vacancy rent from Tenant B of $642.60 per month, calculated as follows:

$510 (previous legal regulated rent) + $102.00 ($510 x 20%) + $30.60 ($510 x .6% x 10 years) = $642.60

2a. Recent Renewal Lease Rates set by the New York City Rent Guidelines Board.

When a tenant signs a renewal lease starting at any time, the rent adjustment for the renewal lease will only be the adjustment for a one or two year lease.

For Renewal Leases Starting Between
Term of Lease

1 Year

2 Year

Heat provided by Owner

Heat paid for by Tenant

Heat provided by Owner

Heat paid for by Tenant

10/01/04 - 9/30/05
3.5%

3.0%

6.5%

6.0%

10/01/05 - 9/30/06
2.75%

2.25%

5.5%

4.5%

10/01/06- 9/30/07
4.25%

3.75%

7.25%

6.75%

10/01/07 - 9/30/08
3.0%

3.0%

5.75%

5.75%

10/01/08 - 9/30/09 Vacancy Lease Less than 6 years old
4.5%

4.0%

5.75%

5.75%

10/01/08 - 9/30/09 Vacancy Lease 6 years or older
Greater of 4.5% or $45

Greater of 4.0% or $40

Greater of 8.5% or $85

Greater of 8.0% or $80

10/01/09 - 9/30/10 Vacancy Lease Less than 6 years old
3.0%

2.5%

6.0%

5.0%

10/01/09 - 9/30/10 Vacancy Lease 6 years or older
Greater of 3.0% or $30

Greater of 2.5% or $25

Greater of 6.0% or $60

Greater of 5.0% or $50

Example of how to compute the renewal rent for a lease set to expire on or after September 30, 2009:

Rent as of September 30, 2009 = $700

Tenant A, who does not pay for heat, has resided in the subject apartment for seven years, and chooses a two-year renewal lease term that commences 10/1/09. The owner is allowed to charge up to $760 per month, calculated as follows:

Whichever is the greater of:

$700 (previous legal regulated rent) + $42.00 ($700 x 6.0%) = $742.00

or

$700 (previous legal regulated rent) + $60.00 = $760.00

2b. Garage Renewal Leases

The fixed dollar amounts cited above DO NOT apply to renewal leases for garage or parking spaces for which rent stabilized tenants are charged separately. Under those circumstances, rent increases are limited to the percentages provided above.

3. Major Capital Improvement ("MCI") rent adjustments approved by the DHCR.

Where an owner makes a building-wide improvement, such as the installation of a new boiler, the owner may be entitled to charge each rent stabilized tenant in the building a rent increase based on an MCI. The MCI increase cannot be charged until a DHCR order is issued authorizing the charge and setting the amount. The MCI increase is allocated on a per room basis, and becomes a permanent part of the legal regulated rent for the purpose of applying future rent increases. The DHCR computes the rent increase based upon a seven-year period of amortization of the verifiable costs of the MCI. There is a 6 percent cap on the amount of the increase that may be collected each year. (See Fact Sheet #24, "Major Capital Improvements (MCI) Questions and Answers", for additional information.)

If an apartment is vacant or becomes vacant while an application to the DHCR for a MCI rent increase is pending, the owner must notify any incoming tenant of the basis for the previously filed application, and that the rent will be increased if the MCI application is approved. Failure to include this notice of anticipated rent increase in vacancy leases will result in no MCI increase being approved for this apartment during the term of the vacancy lease. An owner who charges such increases without this notification will be subject to overcharge penalties.

An example of a satisfactory MCI notification clause in a vacancy lease is the following: "An application for a major capital improvement rent increase has been filed under Docket No. ________________ with DHCR based upon the following work __________________. Should DHCR issue an order granting the rent increase, the rent provided for in this lease will be increased accordingly."

4. Individual Apartment Improvment ("IAI") rent adjustment.

Where an owner installs a new appliance in, or makes an improvement to an apartment, the owner may be entitled to increse the rent of that apartment without the approval of the DHCR.

If there is a tenant in occupancy of the apartment, the owner can only apply a rent increase for the IAI if the tenant consents in writing to pay an increase in rent for the improvement(s). However, if the apartment is vacant, tenant consent is not required. The increase to the tenant's rent, which is permanent, is 1/40th of the total cost of the improvement including installation. For example, if a new refrigerator is installed in an apartment, and the owner's expense is $320.00, the tenant's rent would be adjusted by: 1/40th of $320.00 = $8.00 per month.

The increase, if taking place on a vacancy, is not compounded by the vacancy increase described in Item 1 above, but rather should be added to the lawful rent after application of that adjustment. (See Fact Sheet #12, "Rent Adjustments for New Services, Equipment or Improvements to an Apartment, "for additional information.)

Security Deposit

The amount of a security deposit that an owner may collect is generally limited to one month's rent. However, if the tenant originally paid a greater security deposit when the apartment first came under rent stabilization, and has been in continuous occupancy since that date, such deposit may continue in effect until the tenant reaches the age of 65, or receives Social Security disability retirement benefits or SSI benefits. The next rent stabilized tenant to occupy the apartment, however, cannot be required to deposit more than one month's rent as security.

When a lease is renewed at a higher rent, or the rent is lawfully increased during the term of the lease, the owner may collect additional money from the tenant to bring the security deposit up to the new monthly rent. If after the tenant vacates the apartment, he or she disagrees with the owner over the payment of interest or the return of the security deposit, and such disagreement cannot be resolved between them, the tenant may contact the Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau of the New York State Attorney General's Office or begin a proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction (usually, Small Claims Court).

Sources:

New York City Rent Stabilization Code Sections 2522.4 (a)
New York City Rent Stabilization Code Sections 2522.8 (a)
New York City Rent Stabilization Code Sections 2525.4

Related Material:

Fact Sheet #12, "Rent Adjustments for New Services, New Equipment or Improvements to an Apartment"
Fact Sheet #24, "Major Capital Improvements (MCI) Questions and Answers"

For more information or assistance, call the DHCR Rent InfoLine (718-739-6400) or visit your Borough or County Rent Office.

DHCR update 8/21/09
RGB page updated 10/15/09

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