For
Leases Starting Between |
Term
of Lease |
|
1
Year |
2
year
|
10/1/00
- 9/30/01 |
4.0
% |
6.0
% |
10/1/01
- 9/30/02 |
2.0
% |
4.0
% |
10/1/02
- 9/30/03 |
4.5
% |
7.5
% |
10/1/03
- 9/30/04 |
3.5
% |
6.5
% |
10/1/04
- 9/30/05 |
3.0
% |
6.0
% |
10/1/05
- 9/30/06 (see
note 1) |
2.75
% |
5.5
% |
10/1/05
- 9/30/06 (see
note 2) |
2.25
% |
4.5
% |
10/1/06
- 9/30/07 (see
note 1) |
4.25% |
7.25% |
10/1/06
- 9/30/07 (see note 2) |
3.75% |
6.75% |
10/1/07
- 9/30/08 |
3.0% |
5.75% |
Note 1: Heat
is provided or required to be provided by owner at no
charge to the tenant.
Note 2: Heat is neither provided nor required to be provided by the owner.
Example of
how to compute the renewal rent for a lease set to expire on or after September
30, 2007:
(Assume owner is required to provide heat at no cost to the tenant.)
Rent as of
9/30/07 = $600
10/1/07 -
9/30/08
1 year Renewal Rent = $600 + 3.00% ($18.00) = $618.00
10/1/07 -
9/30/08
2 year Renewal Rent = $600 + 5.75% ($34.50) = $634.50
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 adjustment based on an MCI. The MCI adjustment cannot
be charged until a DHCR order is issued authorizing the charge and setting
the amount. The MCI adjustment is allocated on a per-room basis, and
becomes a permanent part of the legal regulated rent for the purpose
of applying future lawful adjustments. The DHCR computes the rent adjustment
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 adjustment that
may be collected each year. [See Fact
Sheet #11, "Rent Adjustments for Major Capital Improvements",
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.
A satisfactory MCI
notification clause in a vacancy lease is one which provides, "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 in creased 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 adjust the rent of that apartment
for the new appliance or improvement without approval of the DHCR.
If there is a tenant in occupancy of the apartment, the owner can only
apply a rent adjustment 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 adjustment 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: 1/40 of $320.00 = $8.00 per month. The increase,
if taking place on a vacancy, is not compounded by the vacancy adjustment
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, New Equipment or
Improvements to An Apartment", for additional information.)
DHCR recommends that if a tenant has reason to believe 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 from our website or 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 complant will be unable to challenge the
lawfulness of the rent.
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.)
