RENT REGULATION AFTER 50 YEARS
An Overview of New York State's Rent Regulated Housing 1993
NEW YORK STATE DIVISION OF HOUSING & COMMUNITY RENEWAL
Mario M. Cuomo, Governor
Donald M. Halperin, State Director of Housing
Joseph A. D'Agosta, Deputy Commissioner for Rent Administration
OFFICE OF RENT ADMINISTRATION
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
Lula M. Anderson*
BUREAU CHIEFS
Gary Turk
Ed Blanco
Howard Hecht
Sidney Weir
Ron Susser
* Due to publication schedules the report cover was printed
before the content and identifies Joseph A. D'Agosta as the
Deputy Commissioner for Rent Administration. On July 11,
1994, Mr. D'Agosta was appointed Executive Deputy
Commissioner and Lula M. Anderson was appointed to replace
him as the new Deputy Commissioner for Rent.
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NEW YORK STATE
DIVISION AND HOUSING & COMMUNITY RENEWAL
OFFICE OF RENT ADMINISTRATION
Queens Central Office
92-31 Union Hall Street
Jamaica, NY, 11433
1-718-739-6400
Bronx Borough Rent Office
One Fordham Plaza, Bronx, 10458
1-718-563-5678
Brooklyn Borough Rent Office
250 Schermerhorn Street, 3rd flr, Brooklyn, 11201
1-718-780-9246
Upper Manhattan Borough Rent Office
163 West 125th Street, 5th flr, New York, 10027
1-212-961-8930
Lower Manhattan Borough Rent Office
156 William Street, 9th flr, NY, 10038
1-212-240-6011, 6012
Staten Island Borough Rent Office
350 St. Mark's Place, Room 105, S.I. 10301
1-718-816-0277
Nassau District Rent Office
50 Clinton Street, 6th flr, Hempstead, 11550
1-516-481-9494
Westchester District Rent Office
55 Church Street, 3rd flr, White Plains, 10601
1-914-948-4434
Rockland District Rent Office
94-96 North Main Street, Spring Valley, 10977
1-914-425-6575
Albany Regional Office
119 Washington Avenue, Albany, 12210
1-518-432-0596
Buffalo Regional Office
Ellicot Square Building, 295 Main St., Room 438, Buffalo, 14203
1-716-856-1382
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Deputy Commissioner of Rent Administration would like to
acknowledge the excellence and professionalism of the Rent team
that worked long and hard to prepare this report. Special thanks
must go to Art Shulman who wrote most of the narrative. The
report also benefited from the contribution of other DHCR staff
who work outside Rent Administration.
Art Shulman
Ed Blanco
John D. Lance
Harris Cataquet
Sheila D. Spann
Alan Weinblatt
Adrienne Kivelson
Gary Turk
Howard Hecht
Mark Whyte
Lee Hudson
Ken Helschien
Denis Sweeney
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[note: page numbers refer to original]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
HISTORY OF RENT REGULATION 2
Federal Rent Controls 1943-1950 3
State Rent Controls 1950-1962 3
Rent Control and Rent Stabilization 1962-1984 4
State Regulation 1984 to Present 7
RENT REGULATED HOUSING
Overview of the Housing Market 10
Vacancies 10
Rent Regulation Outside New York City 17
Rent Registration 19
Number of Registered Units 19
Rent Levels 22
Rent Controlled Units 33
Rent Adjustments 36
OFFICE OF RENT ADMINISTRATION CASELOADS 42
Program Mission 42
Organization 42
Administrative Caseloads by Bureau 43
Petitions for Administrative Review 49
Geographic Distribution of Selected Casetypes 50
POLICY AND PUBLIC INFORMATION 59
GLOSSARY OF RENT REGULATION TERMS 62
APPENDIX: LIST OF REGULATED BUILDINGS BY COUNTY 88
[not included in the electronic edition]
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PROLOGUE
Rent Regulation in New York has been one of the most frequently
contested, hotly debated and enduring public policy issues of the
past half century. It has survived wars, persisted during
economic expansions and contractions and continued under
Democratic and Republican administrations. While a constant
source of frustration to the regulated and the regulators, it
exists because of a chronic shortage of rental housing.
"Rent Regulation After 50 Years" provides, for the first time,
detailed statistical information from the Division of Housing and
Community Renewal's rent registration and case processing data
bases. This data graphically depicts the current state of New
York's rent regulatory system affecting 2.5 million tenants in
more than 1 million privately-owned housing accommodations in New
York City and in municipalities in Nassau, Westchester, Rockland,
and several upstate counties.
These sources provide incomparable data on the location, rent
levels and administrative interactions with owners and tenants as
well as the bedrock of information upon which the debate
concerning affordability and profitability, mobility and
stability, governability and bureaucracy can continue on firmer
factual ground. The statistical data does not provide information
on social factors or profit margins. Therefore, the report
purposely does not tackle the highly controversial issues of
economic benefits and burdens of the rent regulatory systems.
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HISTORY OF RENT REGULATION
NEW YORK STATE 1943-1993
Nineteen ninety-three marked the fiftieth year in which rent
regulations have been in continuous existence in New York State.
During these fifty years, the laws have been substantially
changed and modified and the location and type of housing subject
to regulation periodically altered. The responsibility for
administering the rent regulatory system has also shifted between
various governmental jurisdictions:
l943 to 1950 - Federal
l950 to 1962 - State
1962 to 1984* - State/City
1984 to Present - State
* The Federal government briefly imposed wage and price
controls from August, 1971 through January, 1973.
New York State's half century experience with rent regulation is
the longest in the nation. The continuation of these regulations
has been dictated by the inability of public housing programs or
of the private housing market to produce an adequate supply of
decent, affordable housing in various municipalities in the
State. In these municipalities, government regulations minimize
market distortions created by a housing shortage (the net rental
vacancy rate being less than 5%). As a result, a temporary
emergency measure has been transformed into a stable fixture of
New York's housing market. Today, approximately 1.2 million of
New York State's 3.3 million rental housing accommodations are
subject to rent regulation.
The half century history of rent regulation (in fact most New
York City residents cannot remember when regulations did not
exist) provides a unique perspective in which to view a unique
housing market.
Federal Rent Controls 1943-1950*
* Much of the information concerning the history of rent
regulation through 1980 is based upon the "Report of the New
York State Temporary Commission on Rental Housing", Volume
1, March, 1980.
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the
Emergency Price Control Act (EPCA) which provided for a
universal, nationwide price regulatory system. Price controls
were the government's response to inflationary pressures
resulting from a fully employed wartime economy that channeled
resources exclusively to the war effort. Price controls for
rental apartments in residential areas were included in the EPCA.
Rents in most counties in the State were placed under Federal
regulation. On November 1,1943 the Federal Office of Price
Administration issued regulations freezing New York City rents at
the March 1, 1943 levels.
With the end of the war and the normalization of the national
economy, the Emergency Price Control Act was allowed to expire on
June 30, 1947. In its place Congress enacted the Federal Housing
and Rent Act of 1947 which became effective on July 1st of that
year. Under this Law, new construction after February 1, 1947 was
totally exempted from controls while pre-1947 buildings remained
subject to continuing regulation. Even today, the February 1,
1947 initial occupancy date remains a key determinant in
establishing the control status of housing accommodations in New
York State and New York City.
State Rent Controls 1950-1962
In anticipation of the withdrawal of Federal controls and because
of the continuing housing shortage, the State adopted its own set
of regulations. Subsequent Federal legislation, the 1949 Federal
Housing and Rent Act, gave the States authority to assume
administrative control of rent regulation and the power to
continue, eliminate or modify the Federal system.
In 1950, the Temporary State Housing Rent Commission was
designated as the agency responsible for administering the
regulation of rental housing by Chapter 250 of the Laws of 1950.
This Act also froze rents at the level in effect on March 1,
1950, in order to give the Commission time to develop a rent
control plan for New York. To ease the transition from Federal
controls, the plan that was adopted by the Legislature in 1951
closely paralleled the Federal regulatory system that was in
effect.
At the time of the initiation of State rent control,
approximately 2,500,000 rental units were under control
statewide. About 85% of these units were in New York City. The
State system regulated all relationships between owners and
tenants pertaining to rents, services and evictions. To
administer the system local rent offices were established
throughout the State.
As the severe housing shortage created by World War II and the
inflationary pressure caused by the Korean War gradually abated,
the State enacted a series of limited decontrol measures.
- Apartments in one or two-family houses which became vacant
on or after April 1, 1953 were exempted from controls.
- Counties, cities and towns outside of New York City were
given decontrol power.
- In 1958, the first luxury decontrol order was issued which
deregulated approximately 600 units in New York City then
renting for more than $416.66 per month unfurnished and $500
per month if the apartment was furnished.
By 1961, there were approximately 1,800,000 units subject to rent
control throughout the State. Only New York City and 18 counties
outside of the City contained rent controlled units.
Rent Control and Rent Stabilization 1962-1984
While the gradual decontrol trend continued throughout much of
the 1960's, significant administrative change occurred at the
beginning of the decade. In 1962, the responsibility for
administering rent control within New York City was transferred
to the City under the Local Emergency Rent Control Act. This Law
enabled the City to shape its own rent control program, since the
overwhelming majority of controlled units were located in the
City. The administration of State rent control was transferred
from the Temporary State Housing Commission to the State Division
of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) in 1964.
In 1964, approximately 5,000 "high" rent apartments in New York
City were decontrolled (unfurnished units renting for $250 per
month or more and furnished units renting for $300 or more as of
April 1, 1960). Decontrol was staggered. Units were decontrolled
immediately upon vacancy, while occupied units were subject to a
test based on family size and characteristics (such as families
with school age children) and apartment size.
A 1965 housing survey revealed a vacancy rate of 8.8% in
unfurnished and furnished apartments with rents in excess of $250
and $300 respectively. A 1968 order decontrolled units with such
rents as of April 1, 1965. This decontrol measure was also
staggered. Approximately 7,000 units were decontrolled under the
1968 Administrator's order.
By 1969, economic conditions changed as the result of national as
well as local economic factors. Nationally, the Vietnam War
caused a steep rise in the rate of inflation and locally, housing
production slumped. The overall vacancy rate which stood at 3.2%
in 1965 fell drastically to 1.23% in 1968. Rents escalated
rapidly in the non-regulated sector. The tightening of the rental
housing market led the City to enact the Rent Stabilization Law
of 1969.
Approximately 400,000 New York City apartments, in buildings
containing 6 or more units, which were exempt from rent control
became covered by rent stabilization. Of the 400,000 apartments,
325,000 were in buildings constructed after February 1, 1947.
Approximately 75,000 of the 400,000 apartments were former rent
controlled apartments which had been decontrolled.
Rent Stabilization is substantially different from rent control
applicable to pre-1947 buildings. The Rent Stabilization Law,
which contains a built-in rent adjustment mechanism and a
simplified procedural structure, was designed to more readily
adapt to changes in the housing market place. This "second
generation rent regulation law" featuring industry self-
regulation, was conceived as a flexible response to the housing
shortage.
The Rent Stabilization Law provided for the establishment of a
Rent Guidelines Board with the power to establish levels of rent
increases for renewal leases and new tenancies. The Law
authorized the creation of the Conciliation and Appeals Board
(CAB) to receive and act on complaints from tenants and
applications from owners. The Law also provided for the Rent
Stabilization Association (RSA) to develop a code of regulations.
Owners were required to join RSA and comply with the provisions
of the code in order to prevent their apartments from being
placed under rent control.
The newly established, less stringent, rent stabilization system
incorporated an automatic mechanism for periodic rent
adjustments. An adjustment feature was soon added to the rent
control system in order to preserve, maintain and improve this
older housing stock.
This adjustment feature, enacted by Local Law 30 of 1970, is the
Maximum Base Rent (MBR) program, which was the most significant
revision of the City's rent control system. In the MBR program, a
mathematical formula is used to compute the maximum rent levels
for each controlled apartment in the City. This theoretical
maximum base rent represents an approximation of the actual
income required to operate the housing unit under current costs,
including provisions for an 8.5% return on equalized assessed
value. The MBR is adjusted every two years to reflect changes in
economic conditions. Rent increases under the MBR program are
capped at 7.5% a year and are applied until the MBR is reached.
To qualify for a rent increase under the program, the owner must
provide essential services, keep the building free of major code
violations and invest an appropriate amount of rental income for
operation and maintenance.
In 1971, soon after New York City extended rent stabilization to
post-1947 buildings, the State passed several laws designed to
deregulate, over time, the controlled and stabilized housing
stock. Chapter 371 of the Laws of 1971 provided for decontrol of
rent controlled and rent stabilized units which were voluntarily
vacated on or after July 1, 1971. Thus, owners could set market
rents upon vacancy. In addition, the "Urstadt" Law, named after
the then State Housing Commissioner Charles Urstadt, prohibited
any municipality in the State from adopting new regulations that
were more stringent than those that were presently in effect.
From July, 1971 through December, 1973 approximately 300,000 rent
controlled units were decontrolled and approximately 88,000 rent
stabilized apartments were destabilized. Rapid inflation caused
by the continuing Vietnam War was the economic hallmark of this
period. In response, the Federal government imposed a 90-day wage
and price freeze in late 1971. The Federal program was completely
discontinued in January, 1973. However, the general price
inflation during the period, combined with vacancy decontrol,
resulted in very large rent increases for apartments located in
New York City and its surrounding suburbs.
In response to these spiraling rent levels, Governor Nelson
Rockefeller directed the Temporary State Commission on Living
Costs and the Economy of the State of New York to conduct
hearings and make recommendations on vacancy decontrol. The
Commission, under then Chairman Andrew Stein, recommended
abrogation of vacancy decontrol. Its findings indicated that
vacancy decontrol resulted in average rent increases of 52% in
decontrolled apartments and 19% in previously stabilized units in
New York City, while operating costs increased by 7.9%. Vacancy
decontrol resulted in average rent increases of 47% in Nassau
County and 45% in Westchester County. According to the
Commission, in New York City, the excess rent was not reinvested
in capital improvements, but in fact resulted in an actual
decrease of 30% in renovations.
The State Legislature's response to rising public apprehensions
caused by rapid rent increases and an inadequate supply of
affordable housing was the enactment of the Emergency Tenant
Protection Act of 1974 (ETPA). ETPA provided for a stabilization
system in Nassau, Rockland and Westchester counties in
municipalities which chose to adopt such regulations based on a
housing emergency, meaning the vacancy rate was less than 5%. The
Act also substantially amended the New York City Rent
Stabilization Law, and ended the vacancy decontrol provisions of
the 1971 legislation as they applied to rent stabilization.
In New York City, the ETPA placed buildings with six or more
units that were completed between March 11, 1969 and December 31,
1973 under rent stabilization for the first time. In addition,
rent controlled units and rent stabilized units, in buildings
with six or more units and deregulated by vacancy decontrol, were
re-regulated and placed under stabilization. (The vacancy
decontrol provisions for rent controlled apartments remain in
effect and these units either become stabilized or decontrolled
upon vacancy.)
In Nassau, Rockland and Westchester counties, the ETPA allowed
for local determination of its applicability. Buildings with six
or more housing units completed prior to January 1, 1974 could be
placed under regulation. The Act also directed the creation of
county rent guidelines boards to determine annual rent
adjustments for classes of housing within the respective
counties. The New York State Division of Housing and Community
Renewal was directed to implement the ETPA outside of New York
City.
State Regulation 1984 to Present
After this flurry of activity in the early 1970's which reshaped
rent regulation downstate, the next major change in the rent
regulation laws did not occur for almost a decade. On June 30,
1983, the Omnibus Housing Act, Chapter 403 of the Laws of 1983,
was enacted.
The Act transferred the administration of the rent control and
rent stabilization programs in New York City to the State.
Commencing April 1, 1984, the New York State Division of Housing
and Community Renewal administered all four rent regulatory laws,
statewide:
1. The Emergency Housing Rent Control Law of 1950.
2. The Local Emergency Rent Control Act of 1962.
3. The Rent Stabilization Law of 1969.
4. The Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974.
The 1983 Omnibus Housing Act abolished the Conciliation and
Appeals Board and the New York City Division of Rent Control. The
Act required owners to register by July 1, 1984 the rents and
services in effect on April 1, 1984 for all stabilized apartments
and to update that registration each year. In addition, the Act
eliminated the availability of three year leases as a lease
renewal option for tenants. The 1983 Act also limited the rent
guidelines boards' power to adopt several adjustments or special
guidelines at different times during a guidelines year. The
boards could now adopt only one guidelines "package" during the
guidelines year. The Act instituted a treble damage penalty for
owners who collected willful overcharges and also placed a four
year statute of limitations on the establishment of overcharges.
Finally the Act provided for an alternative hardship application
procedure for stabilized units.
The last major revision of the rent laws occurred with the
passage of the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1993. The Act
deregulated vacant apartments and occupied regulated apartments,
which became vacant, that rented for $2,000 or more per month
between July 7 and October 1, 1993. In addition, rent regulated
apartments renting for $2,000 or more per month as of October 1,
1993, which are occupied by tenants with combined household
incomes in excess of $250,000 in each of two immediately
preceding years are deregulated upon application by the owner, at
the expiration of the stabilized lease. For rent controlled
tenants in this category, decontrol will occur on March 1st or
June 1st of the year following the year in which the owner filed
a petition for decontrol depending on the nature of the
proceeding. This income based decontrol process, administered by
DHCR, relies upon data furnished to it by the New York State
Department of Taxation and Finance as part of the income
verification process.
The 1993 Act also exempted vacant rental units in cooperatives
and condominiums in Nassau, Rockland and Westchester counties and
occupied units upon the vacancy of the rent regulated tenant.
Administrative changes, affecting cases filed on or after July 1,
1991, included the elimination of treble damage penalties for
overcharges which occurred solely because of a registration
infraction, and the elimination of rent overcharge penalties for
late registration.
While the luxury decontrol provisions of the 1993 Act affect only
1% of the more than 1 million units under regulation in New York,
they represent a significant departure from previous legislation
because eligibility criteria are now applied to the economic
characteristics of the household. This is the first time in New
York's 50 year history of rent regulation that a "means test" has
been employed to determine the regulatory status of the housing
unit.
The history of rent regulation as described above provides some
insight into the complexity and difficulty of achieving the goal
of establishing fair rents in a market where there is a housing
shortage. The goal is simply to introduce fairness into a failed
market. However, complexities arise from the necessity of
balancing the interest of owners seeking a fair return on
investment and the interest of tenants seeking protection from
excessive rent increases. This balancing of interests
necessitates that rent regulation be more than a mechanism to
restrain rent increases but also be a system to maintain an
adequate supply of affordable housing. Today, with over 2.5
million New Yorkers living in more than one million rent
regulated apartments, the success of the rent regulatory system
in achieving its goals still remains of vital importance.
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RENT REGULATED HOUSING
Overview Of The Housing Market
New York City is a very distinct and unique housing market when
compared to the United States as a whole. Throughout the country
almost two out of three households (64%) own their homes, while
in New York City only 3 out of 10 are owners. Throughout the
country almost 3 out of 4 households live in buildings with less
than 5 apartments and 64% occupy single family homes. In the
City, fewer than 2 households out of 5 (37%) live in buildings
with less than 5 units while almost 9% live in buildings with 200
or more units. The 1990 Census reports an 8.5% net rental vacancy
rate for the United States, while the 1993 New York City Housing
and Vacancy Survey reports a net rental vacancy rate of only
3.44%.*
* Statistics in the Overview Section when referring to New
York City are from the 1993 Housing and Vacancy Survey, U.S.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Statistics
referring to the United States, New York State, or
municipalities other than New York City are from the 1990
decennial census.
In New York State in 1990 there were 7,226,891 housing units with
New York City accounting for almost 3 million housing units. The
1993 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey reported 2,985,527
units. Nearly four percent (111,510 or 3.7%), of these units were
vacant and not available for sale or rent. Some examples of these
units are dilapidated units, apartments undergoing renovation,
and units awaiting to be converted to cooperative use. Of the
remaining 2,874,017 units, 2,047,016, or 71.2 percent, were
rental units and 827,001, or 28.8 percent, were owner occupancy
units. Thus, as stated, the great majority of New York City
residents are renters, while in the rest of the State and in the
Nation a majority of households are owners.
The owner and renter categories are further broken-down into
various subcomponents. The conventional homeowner component
represents 19% of New York City's housing stock. Conventional
homeowners reside predominantly in single-family and two-family
houses. Private cooperative and condominium owners occupy 8% of
the housing stock and Mitchell-Lama owners 1%. The Mitchell-Lama
program provides State or City long-term, low interest mortgage
loans to foster the production of middle income rental or
cooperative housing.
The rental category is broken-down into five sub-components.
Privately owned rental housing that is rent regulated represents
38% with 4% rent controlled and 34% rent stabilized. All
privately owned non-regulated rental housing represents 22% of
the total New York City housing stock. The final rental
components, publicly owned and publicly-aided housing, represents
9% of the City's housing stock with 6% being public housing and
3% Mitchell-Lama housing. In addition, 2% of the available
housing stock was vacant for rent and 1% was vacant for sale.
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COMPOSITION OF THE NEW YORK CITY HOUSING STOCK, 1993
Inventory Units Vacancy Rate
--------- ----- ------------
Owner-Occupied 806,479
Vacant For Sale 20,522 2.48%
-------
Total Owner Units 827,001
Renter Occupied 1,976,671
Vacant For Rent 70,345 3.44%
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Total Renter Units 2,047,016
Vacant Not Available 111,510
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Total Housing Units 2,985,527
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COMPOSITION OF THE NEW YORK CITY HOUSING STOCK, 1993
Source: Housing and Vacancy Survey, New York City, 1993
Conventional (owner) 19%
Co-op/Condo (owner) 8%
Mitchell-Lama (owner) 1%
Rent Controlled 4%
Rent Stabilized 34%
Mitchell-Lama (renter) 3%
Public Housing 6%
All other renter 22%
Vacant for rent 2%
Vacant for sale 1%
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In New York City half of all occupied rental housing units were
rent stabilized. An additional five percent of occupied rental
housing units were rent controlled. Nine percent of occupied
rental housing was in State, City or federally supported public
housing which is owned and operated by the New York City Housing
Authority. Mitchell-Lama housing represented four percent of the
occupied rental stock. The remaining 33 percent of rentals were
categorized as other rentals. These rental units are either
unregulated consisting of non-rent controlled units in buildings
containing less than 6 units, buildings built after 1974 with no
tax abatements or rentals in cooperative and condominium
buildings that have been deregulated or never regulated, or under
government auspices such as "in-rem" units and HUD federally
subsidized units.
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COMPOSITION OF THE OCCUPIED RENTAL HOUSING STOCK,
NEW YORK CITY, 1993
Source: Housing and Vacancy Survey, New York City, 1993
Rent Controlled 5%
Rent Stabilized 49%
Public Housing 9%
Mitchell-Lama 4%
Other rentals 33%
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OCCUPIED RENTAL HOUSING UNITS, NEW YORK CITY 1993
Regulatory Status Units Percentage
Rent Controlled 101,798 5.2
Rent Stabilized 979,026 49.5
Mitchell-Lama 79,138 4.0
Public Housing 173,561 8.8
Other Rental 643,148 32.5
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Total 1,976,671 100.0
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Manhattan was the borough with the highest percentage of rent
stabilized (61 percent) and rent controlled (8 percent) occupied
units. Thus, almost 7 out of 10 rental units in Manhattan were
regulated. Nine percent of occupied rental housing was in public
housing developments and four percent in publicly aided Mitchell-
Lama developments. Only 17 percent of occupied rental housing
(the lowest percentage in the five boroughs) was classified as
other rental in Manhattan. The low percentage of other rental
housing can be accounted for by the small number of buildings
with less than 6 units in Manhattan and by participation of most
builders in the Section 421a program when developing post-1974
rental housing. Such City tax abatement programs as Section 421a
place rental units under rent stabilization during the period
that tax benefits remain in effect. However, because of the
expiration of tax benefits, and because of the large number of
buildings converted to cooperative status (vacated rental units
in buildings converted to cooperative status are no longer
subject to regulation), and because of the 1993 Rent Regulation
Reform Act provisions gradually deregulating units of $2,000 or
more, the number of unregulated units in Manhattan should
increase relative to the total number of rental units.
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MANHATTAN
Regulatory Status Units Percentage
Rent Controlled 47,309 8%
Rent Stabilized 355,310 61%
Public Housing 54,164 9%
Mitchell-Lama 26,077 4%
Other Rentals 98,381 17%
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Brooklyn and Queens had 43 percent of their respective occupied
rental housing classified as rent stabilized and 4 percent
classified as rent controlled. Other rental housing was 40
percent of Brooklyn's occupied rental stock as compared to 46
percent for Queens. Public housing represented 10 percent of
Brooklyn's rental stock as compared to 4 percent for Queens.
Mitchell-Lama housing represented 3% of the housing stock in
these contiguous boroughs.
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QUEENS
Regulatory Status Units Percentage
Rent Controlled 16,501 4%
Rent Stabilized 182,180 43%
Public Housing 16,839 4%
Mitchell Lama 12,870 3%
Other Rental 191,787 46%
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BROOKLYN
Regulatory Status Units Percentage
Rent Controlled 26,666 4%
Rent Stabilized 254,743 43%
Public Housing 59,673 10%
Mitchell Lama 17,068 3%
Other Rental 238,574 40%
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The Bronx recorded the highest percentage of public and publicly
aided housing with almost 1 out of 5 renter occupied units
falling into these categories. Public housing represented 11% of
the stock and Mitchell-Lama units 7%. Fifty-four percent of the
housing stock in the Bronx was classified as rent stabilized, 3%
as rent controlled and 24% as other rental.
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BRONX
Regulatory Status Units Percentage
Rent Controlled 10,284 3%
Rent Stabilized 177,338 54%
Public Housing 37,565 11%
Mitchell Lama 23,123 7%
Other Rental 79,454 24%
================================================================
In Richmond, 69 percent of rental housing was classified as other
rental, the largest percentage figure for this type of rental
housing in the five boroughs. Small buildings, one and two-family
homes are the hallmark of this borough's housing stock. Nineteen
percent of rental housing was rent stabilized, 10 percent was
public housing and 2 percent was rent controlled.
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STATEN ISLAND
Regulatory Status Units Percentage
Rent Controlled 1,037 2%
Rent Stabilized 9,455 19%
Public Housing 5,321 10%
Other Rental 34,952 69%
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Vacancies
The 1993 Housing and Vacancy Survey (HVS) reported a City-wide
net rental vacancy rate of 3.44. This represents a modest
tightening of the market since 1991 when the HVS reported a 3.78%
net rental vacancy rate. The vacancy rate in New York City
continues to remain well below the five percent threshold
signifying a housing emergency.
Vacancy rates varied by location, size, age and regulatory status
of the apartments. The net rental vacancy rates in 1993 for the
boroughs had little variance falling into the narrow range of 3%
- 4%: the Bronx, 4.0%; Brooklyn, 3.2%; Manhattan, 3.5%; Queens,
3.1%; and Staten Island, 4.1%. Manhattan reported a significant
decline in the vacancy rate as it fell from 4.45% in 1991 to
3.52% in 1993. Vacancy rates had an inverse relationship to the
size of the unit with studios (0 bedroom) reporting a 6.6%
vacancy rate, 1-bedroom apartments, 3.4% and two or more bedroom
apartments, 2.9%. There was also a disproportionate number of
vacancies in newly constructed buildings. Buildings completed
after 1987 had a vacancy rate of 7.80% while the vacancy rate for
pre-1987 buildings was only 3.38%. As expected, vacancy rates
increase as the asking rent increases. The net rental vacancy
rate is less than 1% (0.7%) for apartments renting for less than
$400; 3.2% for units renting between $400 and $700; and is 5.3%
for apartments renting for $700 or more.
The net rental vacancy rate for rent stabilized apartments in
1993 was 3.36%. This compares to a 4.73% vacancy rate in the
unregulated sector. Vacancy rates are not applicable to rent
controlled apartments, because, by definition, rent controlled
apartments must be occupied in order to remain under control.
Vacated rent controlled apartments become subject to rent
stabilization or are deregulated depending on the size and status
of the building.
Rent Regulation Outside New York City
Rent regulation outside of New York City is in effect in
municipalities in seven counties. In four of the counties
(Albany, Erie, Rensselaer, and Schenectady) the only regulated
units are rent controlled; two counties (Nassau and Westchester)
contain rent controlled and rent stabilized (Emergency Tenant
Protection Act) regulated units; and in Rockland County there are
only apartments regulated under ETPA. Since all counties in the
State are subject to the vacancy decontrol provisions of Chapter
371 of the Laws of 1971 (see "History" chapter) the number of
State rent controlled units has steadily declined and only
several thousand units remain under control outside of New York
City. The exact total of these rent controlled units is unknown
because these apartments are not required to annually register
with ORA. The agency has initiated a survey of regulated upstate
buildings in order to provide accurate data on the number and
location of these rent controlled apartments.
Rent regulation outside of New York City is also predicated on an
housing emergency, meaning the net rental vacancy rate is less
than 5 percent. Selected vacancy rates in cities covered by the
Emergency Tenant Protection Act are as follows: Glen Cove, 4.6%;
Mount Vernon, 3.3%; New Rochelle, 3.2%; White Plains, 4.3%; and
Yonkers, 3.7%.
Listed on the following table are municipalities outside New York
City which are covered by rent control and municipalities in
Nassau, Rockland and Westchester counties which have adopted the
Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974.
================================================================
RENT REGULATED HOUSING OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY
County Rent ETPA
Locality Control Regulated By Building Size
-------- ------- --------------------------
ALBANY COUNTY
Albany x
Watervliet x
Bethlehem x
Green Island Town x
New Scotland x
Green Island Village x
Voorheesville x
ERIE COUNTY
Buffalo x
Cheektowaga x
Depew x
Sloan x
NASSAU COUNTY
Glen Cove x 100 or more units
Long Beach x 60 or more units
Hempstead x 6 or more units
North Hempstead x 6 or more units
Oyster Bay x
Bellerose x
Cedarhurst x 6 or more units
Floral Park x 6 or more units
Freeport x 6 or more units
Hempstead x 6 or more units
Mineola x 6 or more units
New Hyde Park x
Sea Cliff x
Valley Stream x
Westbury x
Williston Park x
Baxter Estates 6 or more units
Flower Hill x 6 or more units
Great Neck 6 or more units
Great Neck Plaza 6 or more units
Lynbrook x 6 or more units
Rockville Centre 6 or more units
Russell Gardens 6 or more units
Thomaston 6 or more units
RENSSELAER COUNTY
Rensselaer x
Hoosick x
North Greenbush x
Hoosick Falls x
================================================================
================================================================
RENT REGULATED HOUSING OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY (continued)
County Rent ETPA
Locality Control Regulated By Building Size
-------- ------- --------------------------
ROCKLAND COUNTY
Haverstraw 100 or more units
Spring Valley 6 or more units
SCHENECTADY COUNTY
Niskayuna x
Princeton x
WESTCHESTER COUNTY
Mount Vernon x 6 or more units
New Rochelle x 6 or more units
White Plains x 6 or more units
Yonkers x 6 or more units
Eastchester x 6 or more units
Greenburgh x 6 or more units
Harrison x 6 or more units
Mamaroneck Town x 6 or more units
Ardsley x
Dobbs Ferry x 6 or more units (2 rms+)
Hastings-on-Hudson x 6 or more units
Larchmont x 6 or more units
Mamaroneck Village x 6 or more units
North Tarrytown x 6 or more units
Tarrytown x 6 or more units
Tuckahoe x
Irvington 20 or more units
Mt. Kisco 16 or more units
Pleasantville 20 or more units
Port Chester 12 or more units
================================================================
Rent Registration
The Omnibus Housing Act of 1983 requires owners to file an
initial apartment registration, listing all apartment equipment
and services and monthly regulated rents for every apartment in
buildings subject to regulation. Owners are also required to
update that registration each year by submitting Annual
Registration Summary and Annual Apartment Registration forms.
These filings provide a data base which is a wellspring of
information and the most complete source of data on New York's
stabilized housing stock.
The rent registration data base maintains information on two
files, a building file and an apartment file. The building file
contains the name and address of the owner and/or manager,
building address and type of structure (hotel, Class A multiple
dwelling, cooperative, etc.), total number of apartments in the
structure, and building-wide service information from the initial
registration form. The apartment file contains the name of the
tenant, lease date, legal registered rent, rent actually paid,
basis of change in rent and individual apartment services from
the initial apartment rent registration form. The apartment file
has extensive information on the basis for the change in rent
since the last registration including; lease renewal, vacancy
adjustment, major capital improvement increase, hardship
increase, overcharge adjustment and individual apartment
improvement increase.
Information on rent controlled apartments is more limited because
annual registrations are not required by the rent control law.
However, owners may file for rent increases under the Maximum
Base Rent program in New York City. Data providing the number of
rent controlled units and buildings in the City are based on
these filings.
Number of Registered Units
A total of 926,649 housing units in 43,792 buildings were
registered with DHCR in 1992 in New York City and Nassau,
Rockland and Westchester counties. The overwhelming majority of
the apartments registered (91%) were in occupied stabilized
units. Four percent of the registered units were vacant and 3%
were temporarily exempt from regulation. Examples of temporarily
exempt accommodations are: owner occupied units; units occupied
by an employee paying no rent and transient occupants in a
stabilized hotel or single room occupancy (SRO) building. In
addition, 18,199 or two percent of the registered units were
registered as permanently exempt. These are units which first
became exempt from regulation in 1992. More than half of these
units were in buildings that were converted to ownership status.
================================================================
Apartments Permanently Exempt from Rent Regulation,
NYC, ETPA, 1992
Co-op/Condo 54%
421-a Expired 13%
Commercial/Prof 1%
Substantial Rehab 2%
J-51 Expired 6%
Other 24%
================================================================
Excluding the permanently exempt apartments, a total of 908,450
stabilized units were registered in 1992. The vast majority of
these stabilized units, 855,923 or 94.2%, were located in New
York City.* Manhattan contained more than one-third (35.5%) of
the total number of registered units; Brooklyn had 23.0%; Queens
and the Bronx reported 17.5%; and Staten Island contained less
than 1% (0.6%).
* The total number of registered stabilized apartments differs
from the total number of stabilized units reported in the
1993 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey. The HVS is a
sample survey and as such it is subject to both sampling and
non-sampling errors. In addition, the documentation
accompanying the HVS states that their procedures "may tend
to overestimate somewhat the total number of regulated units
in the city..." DHCR's rent registration database contains
records from owner filings. While owners are required to
register annually, some owners have registered
intermittently and others have never registered. Therefore,
the DHCR registration database would undercount the number
of stabilized units.
In the three suburban ETPA counties, Westchester had 4.0%; Nassau
reported 1.5%; and Rockland contained less than 1% (0.3%).
Manhattan also had the most buildings containing registered
stabilized units. Registered buildings in Brooklyn contained
fewer stabilized apartments than the Citywide average while
buildings in the Bronx contained a greater number of stabilized
apartments than the City-wide average.
================================================================
Registered Rent Stabilized Apartments
And Buildings By County, 1992
County Buildings Percent Apartments Percent
------ --------- ------- ---------- -------
Bronx 4,792 10.9% 159,251 17.5%
Kings 12,805 29.2% 209,397 23.0%
New York 14,397 32.9% 322,713 35.5%
Queens 8,812 20.1% 159,140 17.5%
Richmond 383 0.9% 5,422 0.6%
Total NYC 41,189 94.1% 855,923 94.2%
Nassau 618 1.4% 13,877 1.5%
Rockland 105 0.2% 2,633 0.3%
Westchester 1,880 4.3% 36,017 4.0%
Total ETPA 2,603 5.9% 52,527 5.8%
Grand Total 43,792 100.0% 908,450 100.0%
================================================================
================================================================
Registered Rent Stabilized Buildings by County, 1992
New York 14,397
Queens 8,812
Kings 12,805
Bronx 4,792
Richmond 383
Rockland 105
Nassau 618
Westchester 1,880
================================================================
================================================================
Registered Rent Stabilized Apartments by County, 1992*
New York 322,713
Queens 159,140
Kings 209,397
Bronx 159,251
Richmond 5,422
Rockland 2,633
Nassau 13,877
Westchester 36,017
* Excludes 18,199 units which were registered as permanently
exempt in 1992
================================================================
Rent Levels
In New York City, 826,083 rent stabilized apartments with
reported rents were registered in 1992. The median rent for these
apartments was $516 and the mean or average rent was $606.
Apartment rents were clustered in a narrow range between $350 to
$649. This interval represents 61.3% of all registered stabilized
apartments in the City. There were 96,216 (11.7%) apartments
renting for less than $350 per month and there were 31,029 (3.8%)
apartments renting for $1,400 a month or more. Almost a quarter
(23.3%) of the stabilized stock in New York City rented between
$650 to $1,399.
================================================================
Mean And Median Rents
Rent Stabilized Apartments - Registered in 1992
County Mean Rent Median Rent
------ --------- -----------
Bronx $481 $466
Brooklyn $502 $480
Manhattan $762 $611
Queens $559 $531
Richmond $565 $550
New York City $606 $516
Nassau $671 $655
Rockland $625 $606
Westchester $566 $547
ETPA Counties $596 $582
================================================================
The mean monthly rent is the sum of the rents reported by owners
for all registered units divided by the number of units registered
indicating a rent level. The median rent is the midpoint of the
reported rents. The reported registered rent may vary from the
rent paid by the tenant for several reasons. Some examples are:
- The owner has received Major Capital Improvement (MCI)
increases which total more than 6% of the rent paid.
- The annual permanent rent increase resulting from such an
MCI can only increase by a maximum of 6% while the
registered rent would reflect the total allowable increase.
- The owner has received a temporary retroactive increase for
an MCI installation. Such retroactive increases are not
included as part of the registered rent.
- The owner has leased the unit to the tenant at a
preferential rent below the registered rent level.
- There is a surcharge in effect (air conditioning charge)
which is not reflected in the registered rent.
[Note: the following table is formatted for 100 columns]
====================================================================================================
MONTHLY REGISTERED RENTS FOR RENT STABILIZED APARTMENTS IN
NEW YORK CITY AND ETPA COUNTIES 1992
County Number of Apartments
------ --------------------
350- 500- 650- 800- 950- 1,400- over
<$350 499 649 799 949 1,399 1,999 $2,000 TOTAL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRONX 21,306 72,471 45,215 12,262 2,337 929 132 20 154,672
KINGS 24,892 88,559 61,525 20,055 4,775 2,401 634 63 202,904
NEW YORK 40,608 73,844 54,082 42,032 28,214 40,301 18,373 11,126 308,580
QUEENS 9,157 57,954 49,257 26,279 7,699 3,641 454 227 154,668
RICHMOND 253 1,739 1,914 919 283 151 0 0 5,259
TOTAL NYC 96,216 294,567 211,993 101,547 43,308 47,423 19,593 11,436 826,083
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NASSAU 186 1,819 4,517 3,949 1,911 854 66 5 13,307
ROCKLAND 100 473 1,033 718 192 84 0 1 2,601
WESTCHESTER 3,421 10,414 10,075 6,094 2,700 1,235 21 2 33,962
TOTAL ETPA 3,707 12,706 15,625 10,761 4,803 2,173 87 8 49,870
UNKNOWN 223 371 192 124 59 8 2 0 979
TOTAL 100,146 307,644 227,810 112,432 48,170 49,604 19,682 11,444 876,932
====================================================================================================
[Note: the following table is formatted for 100 columns]
====================================================================================================
AVERAGE MONTHLY REGISTERED STABILIZED RENTS
BY APARTMENT SIZE AND COUNTY, 1992
Apartment Size
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
COUNTY 1 ROOM 2 ROOM 3 ROOM 4 ROOM 5 ROOM 6 ROOM 7 ROOM 8 ROOM
Bronx $364 $419 $453 $510 $557 $637 $592 $668
Kings 468 456 480 523 559 613 697 698
New York 582 736 715 788 861 916 1,004 1,355
Queens 480 488 539 602 629 751 775 *
Richmond 366 492 531 601 733 672 * *
Nassau 430 563 639 713 806 807 956 *
Rockland 452 552 572 609 638 677 * *
Westchester 422 474 531 590 676 686 707 *
* Too few units to report.
====================================================================================================
================================================================
AVERAGE MONTHLY REGISTERED RENT FOR STABILIZED APARTMENTS
RECEIVING SECTION 421A TAX BENEFITS
BY COUNTY, 1992
NUMBER OF AVERAGE
COUNTY APARTMENTS MONTHLY RENT
Bronx 457 $ 872
Kings 1,055 591
New York 16,957 1,906
Queens 1,771 958
Richmond 281 795
New York City 20,521 $1,713
================================================================
Manhattan Stabilized Rents [see graphics file "manstab"]
Manhattan had the greatest number of registered stabilized units
with reported rents in 1992 (308,580). It had the highest mean
rent ($762) and median rent ($611) and the greatest spread
between median and mean rents. This is the result of the
comparatively large number of units renting for $1,400 or more.
For the City, Manhattan contained 93.8% of the apartments renting
between $1,400 -- $1,999 and 97.3% of the apartments renting for
$2,000 or more per month. In addition, 83% of the stabilized
units receiving 421-A tax benefits were located in Manhattan.
These buildings of recent construction had significantly higher
average rents than the stabilized stock as a whole. Manhattan's
relatively higher rents compared to the rest of the City is
further shown in the table entitled "Average Monthly Registered
Rent Stabilized Rent By Apartment Size." Studio (1 room)
apartments in Manhattan on the average rented for more than 5
room apartments in the Bronx and Brooklyn and 3 room apartments
in Queens and Staten Island. Manhattan also had a large number of
low priced units with 40,608 or 13.2% renting for less than $350
per month.
Brooklyn Stabilized Rents [see graphics file "bkstab"]
In Brooklyn, 202,904 apartments, with reported rents were
registered in 1992. The median rent for these stabilized
apartments was $480 and the mean rent $502. The rents for
Brooklyn's units were heavily concentrated within the monthly
range of $350 - $499 (43.6%) and $500 - $649 (30.3%). Thus,
nearly three-quarters of Brooklyn's stabilized apartments rented
between $350 - $649. Approximately one out of eight apartments
(12.3%) rented for less than $350 per month. More than half (56%)
of Brooklyn's units rented for less than $500 per month.
Bronx Stabilized Rents [see graphics file "bxstab"]
In the Bronx, 154,652 apartments were registered, with reported
rents, in 1992. The Bronx reported the lowest median ($466) and
mean ($481) rents for the City. Six out of ten stabilized
apartments in the Bronx rented for less than $500. The monthly
rent range of $350 - $499 contained almost half (46.9%) of the
units and the less than $350 category contained 13.8% of the
units.
Queens Stabilized Rents [see graphics file "quenstab"]
Queens reported a median rent of $531 and a mean rent of $559 for
the 154,668 registered stabilized units with rent data in 1992.
While the rent of $350 - $499 contained the highest percentage of
units at 37.5%, it only narrowly led the $500 $649 interval which
contained 31.8% of the stabilized apartments in Queens. This
borough also had a high percentage of units (17.0%) renting
between $650 - $799. Only 5.9% of the apartments rented for less
than $350.
Staten Island Stabilized Rents
Staten Island with the least number of stabilized units, 5,259,
reported a median rent of $550 and a mean rent of $565 for 1992.
While in all the other boroughs the $350 - $499 rent range
contained the most registered units, in Staten Island the $500 -
$649 range had the highest percentage (36.4%) of apartments. The
$350 - $499 category followed at 33.1%. Staten Island had the
lowest percentage (4.8%) of apartments renting for less than
$350.
In Nassau, Rockland and Westchester counties 49,870 apartments,
with reported rents, were registered in 1992. These apartments
are regulated under the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA). A
median rent of $582 and a mean rent of $596 was reported for the
ETPA counties. The median rent for the suburban counties was
substantially higher than the median rent for New York City while
the mean rent was slightly lower. This points out the strong
influence of the "luxury" rental market in Manhattan skewing the
mean rents for stabilized units in the City.
Westchester County with two-thirds of the registered units
reporting rents in the ETPA counties had the lowest median rent
($547) and mean rent ($566). The pattern of rents in Westchester
County was similar to those of the borough of Queens, while
Nassau and Rockland counties, on the average, reported higher
rents. Westchester contains several large cities (Yonkers, Mount
Vernon, New Rochelle, and White Plains) where older high-rise
construction is prevalent. Nassau and Rockland counties are more
suburban in character with less pre-war construction. Three out
of ten ETPA units in Westchester rented within the $350 - $499
range. This was followed by: 29.7% in the $500 - $649 range;
17.9% in the $650 - $799 range and 10.1% renting for less than
$350.
Nassau County, with 13,307 registered units reporting rents, had
the highest median rent of any county ($655) and reported a mean
rent of $674. Slightly more than one-third (33.9%) of Nassau's
ETPA units fell into the $500 - $649 range. Three out of ten
units rented in the $650 - $799 range. Only fifteen percent of
the units rented for less than $500 and only 1.4% rented for less
than $350.
In Rockland County, 2,601 apartments with reported rents, were
registered in 1992. The median rent for Rockland County was $606
and the mean rent was $625. Almost four out of ten (39.7%) units
rented within the $500 - $649 range and 27.6% rented in the $650
- $799 range. Only 3.8% of the ETPA units in Rockland rented for
less than $350.
================================================================
AVERAGE REGISTERED REGULATED RENT
RENT STABILIZED APARTMENTS BY ZIP CODE, 1992
MANHATTAN BROOKLYN
Zip Code Rent Zip Code Rent
10001 $714 11201 $733
10002 460 11203 482
10003 729 11204 487
10004 * 11205 490
10005 733 11206 426
10006 386 11207 531
10007 803 11208 483
10009 628 11209 546
10010 694 11210 521
10011 738 11211 426
10012 608 11212 479
10013 437 11213 456
10014 831 11214 520
10016 993 11215 586
10017 1,035 11216 426
10018 875 11217 549
10019 919 11218 509
10021 1,045 11219 487
10022 1,190 11220 491
10023 901 11221 431
10024 862 11222 438
10025 704 11223 495
10026 461 11224 478
10027 443 11225 470
10028 964 11226 502
10029 509 11228 498
10030 386 11229 524
10031 469 11230 504
10032 483 11231 655
10033 509 11232 460
10034 471 11233 414
10035 393 11234 506
10036 784 11235 508
10037 440 11236 503
10038 762 11237 442
10039 388 11238 513
10040 474
10128 1,144
10280 1,622
* Too few units to report.
================================================================
================================================================
AVERAGE REGISTERED REGULATED RENTS
RENT STABILIZED APARTMENTS
BY ZIP CODE, 1992
QUEENS
Zip Code Rent
11004-5 $737
11101 528
11102 568
11103 557
11104 520
11105 536
11106 537
11354 574
11355 583
11356 589
11357 557
11358 558
11360 791
11361 518
11362 536
11363 637
11364 500
11365 655
11366 491
11367 488
11368 554
11369 533
11370 517
11372 531
11373 550
11374 562
11375 626
11377 524
11378 512
11379 479
11385 480
11411 561
11412 562
11413 566
11414 548
11415 575
11416 496
11417 571
11418 572
11419 504
11420 536
11421 522
11423 502
11426 810
11427 512
11428 519
11429 498
11432 575
11433 605
11434 585
11435 553
11691 551
11692 442
11694 472
BRONX
Zip Code Rent
10451 $491
10452 465
10453 473
10454 434
10455 390
10456 445
10457 459
10458 482
10459 416
10460 444
10461 489
10462 484
10463 556
10464 407
10465 488
10466 494
10467 494
10468 487
10469 516
10470 496
10471 572
10472 454
10473 418
10474 387
RICHMOND
Zip Code Rent
10301 $597
10302 544
10304 505
10305 560
10306 506
10307 471
10308 536
10309 266
10310 559
10312 *
10314 555
* Too few units to report
================================================================
Rent Controlled Units
[see graphics files "manctrl", "bkctrl", "bxctrl" & "quenctrl"]
A total of 84,053 rent controlled housing units participated in
the Maximum Base Rent (MBR) program in 1992. As with the rent
stabilized stock, Manhattan contained the greatest number of
housing units under rent control. Forty-five percent of the units
participating in the MBR program were located in Manhattan.
Brooklyn with 19,382 units contained 23.1% of the City's total.
One out of five controlled units were located in Queens and
almost 12% were located in the Bronx.
================================================================
RENT CONTROLLED BUILDINGS AND APARTMENTS
PARTICIPATING IN THE MBR PROGRAM
By Borough, New York City, 1992
Borough Buildings Percent Apartments Percent
Bronx l,626 10.4% 9,968 11.9%
Brooklyn 4,551 29.1% 19,382 23.1%
Manhattan 5,790 37.0% 37,894 45.1%
Queens 3,634 23.2% 16,686 19.9%
Richmond 40 0.3% 123 0.1%
Total 15,641 100.0% 84,053 100.0%
================================================================
Rent controlled units (the number of controlled apartments has
fallen from over one million in 1971 to approximately one hundred
thousand in 1993 as a result of vacancy decontrol) are located
predominately in stable, economically advantaged neighborhoods.
The middle-class areas of Flatbush, Midwood, Forest Hills,
Greenwich Village and the Upper East and West Sides of Manhattan
have a large number of rent controlled units when compared to the
poorer, minority areas of the South Bronx, Harlem, Central
Brooklyn and Coney Island.
Rent Adjustments
The Rent Guidelines Boards in New York City and Nassau, Rockland
and Westchester counties annually establish guidelines for rent
adjustments. The Boards review many factors impacting on the
economic condition of the residential real estate industry
including: overall maintenance costs; real estate taxes; the cost
and availability of financing; vacancy rates and the supply of
housing; relevant data from cost of living indices; and any other
relevant data made available to the Boards.
Rents in rent controlled apartments in New York City are adjusted
primarily under the Maximum Base Rent (MBR) system. The MBR is
adjusted every two years to reflect changes in economic
conditions. Application of a mathematical formula which consists
of cost components (operation and maintenance expenses, real
estate taxes, water and sewer charges and an allowance for
vacancy and collection losses), an allowance for a return on
capital value and an adjustment for commercial income is employed
to derive the MBR increase. Under the MBR system, the annual
adjustment to the rent that the tenant pays (Maximum Collectible
Rent) cannot exceed 7.5%.
The following tables provide a summary of the rent adjustments
authorized for stabilized and controlled apartments.
================================================================
NEW YORK CITY
RENT CONTROLLED APARTMENTS -- STANDARD ADJUSTMENT FACTOR
Biennial
Maximum Base
Year Rent Adjustment
---- ---------------
1974 8.5%
1975
1976 22%
1977
1978 9%
1979
1980 10%
1981
1982 11%
1983
1984 7.5%
1985
1986 11.5%
1987
1988 16.4%
1989
1990 8.0%
1991
1992 10.8%
1993
1994 14.7%
1995
================================================================
================================================================
NEW YORK CITY
APARTMENT RENT ADJUSTMENT GUIDELINES 1969 -- 1993*
Order Lease Term (percent)
------ ------- -------
Number Lease Starting 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years
------ -------------- ------ ------- -------
1 7/1/68-6/30/70 10.0 10.0 15.0
2 7/1/70-6/30/71 6.0 8.0 11.0
3 7/1/71-6/30/72 7.0 9.0 12.0
4 7/1/72-6/30/73 6.0 8.0 10.0
5 7/1/73-6/30/74 6.5 8.5 10.5
6 7/1/74-6/30/75 8.5 10.5 12.0
7 7/1/75-6/30/76 7.5 9.5 12.5
8 7/1/76-6/30/77 6.5 8.0 11.0
9 7/1/77-6/30/78 6.5 8.5 11.5
10 7/1/78-6/30/79 4.5 6.5 8.5
11 7/1/79-6/30/80 8.5 12.0 15.0
12 7/1/80-9/30/81 11.0 14.0 17.0
13 10/1/81-9/30/82 10.0 13.0 16.0
14 10/1/82-9/30/83 4.0 7.0 10.0
15 10/1/83-9/30/84 4.0 7.0 10.0
16 10/1/84-9/30/85 6.0 9.0 @
17 10/1/85-9/30/86 4.0 6.5
18 10/1/86-9/30/87 6.0 9.0
19 10/1/87-9/30/88 3.0 6.5
20 10/1/88-9/30/89 6.0 9.0
21 10/1/89-9/30/90 5.5 9.0
22 10/1/90-9/30/91 4.5 7.0
23 10/1/91-9/30/92 4.0 6.5
24 10/1/92-9/30/93 3.0 5.0
25 10/1/93-9/30/94 3.0 5.0
@ Owners were no longer required to offer a 3-year lease.
* The table provides the history of lease adjustments orders
and excludes allowable adjustments for vacancy allowance,
electrical inclusion charges, low-rent supplements and fuel
surcharges.
================================================================
================================================================
WESTCHESTER COUNTY
APARTMENT RENT ADJUSTMENT GUIDELINES 1974 -- 1993*
Lease Term (percent)
------ ------- -------
Lease Starting Between 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years
---------------------- ------ ------- -------
2/1/75 - 6/30/75 15.0 17.5 19.5
7/1/75 - 6/30/76 13.0 15.5 17.0
7/1/76 - 6/30/77 4.0 5.0 7.0
1st 2nd 1st 2nd 3rd
yr. yr. yr. yr. yr.
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
7/1/77 - 6/30/78 7.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 5.0
7/1/78 - 6/30/79 6.0 5.0 4.0 5.0 5.0 4.0
7/1/79 - 6/30/80** 9.0 11.0 13.0
7/1/80 - 9/30/81 12.0 15.0 16.0
10/1/81 - 9/30/82 12.0 15.0 18.0
10/1/82 - 9/30/83 4.0 6.0 9.0
10/1/83 - 9/30/84 0.0 0.0 @
10/1/84 - 9/30/85 0.0 3.0
10/1/85 - 9/30/86 6.0 10.0
10/1/86 - 9/30/87 3.0 5.0
10/1/87 - 9/30/88 3.0 5.0
10/1/88 - 9/30/89 6.0 9.0
10/1/89 - 9/30/90 3.0 5.0
10/1/90 - 9/30/91 4.0 7.0
10/1/91 - 9/30/92 3.5 5.0
10/1/92 - 9/30/93 3.0 4.0
10/1/93 - 9/30/94 3.0 4.0
@ Owners were no longer required to offer a 3-year lease.
* The table provides the history of lease adjustment orders
and excludes allowable adjustments for vacancy allowance,
electrical inclusion charges and fuel surcharges, and leases
with tax escalation clauses.
** Additional guidelines promulgated based on location of
municipality.
================================================================
================================================================
NASSAU COUNTY
APARTMENT RENT ADJUSTMENT GUIDELINES 1974 - 1993*
Lease Term (percent)
------ ------- -------
Lease Starting Between 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years
---------------------- ------ ------- -------
4/1/75 - 6/30/75** 12.0 15.0 18.0
7/1/75 - 6/30/76 9.0 12.0 15.0
7/1/76 - 6/30/77 5.0 7.0 9.0
7/1/77 - 6/30/78 5.0 7.0 9.0
7/1/78 - 6/30/79 6.0 8.0 10.0
7/1/79 - 6/30/80 7.0 10.0 13.0
7/1/80 - 9/30/81 9.0 13.0 15.0
10/1/81 - 9/30/82 12.0 15.0 17.0
10/1/82 - 9/30/83 6.0 10.0 12.0
10/1/83 - 9/30/84 6.5 9.0 @
10/1/84 - 9/30/85 6.0 8.0
10/1/85 - 9/30/86 4.5 6.5
10/1/86 - 9/30/87 4.0 5.5
10/1/87 - 9/30/88*** 3.5 5.0
10/1/88 - 9/30/89 5.0 6.5
10/1/89 - 9/30/90 5.0 6.5
10/1/90 - 9/30/91 4.0 5.5
10/1/91 - 9/30/92 5.0 6.5
10/1/92 - 9/30/93 3.0 5.0
10/1/93 - 9/30/94 2.5 4.3
@ Owners were no longer required to offer a 3-year lease.
* The table provides the history of lease adjustment
orders and excludes allowable adjustments for vacancy
allowance, electrical inclusion charges and fuel
surcharges. Also excludes special guidelines for leases
with tax escalation clauses and/or leases with previous
guidelines adjustments.
** Additional guidelines promulgated based on location of
municipality.
*** Additional guidelines promulgated based on cooperative
status.
================================================================
================================================================
ROCKLAND COUNTY
APARTMENT RENT ADJUSTMENT GUIDELINES 1974 - 1993*
Lease Term (percent)
------ ------- -------
Lease Starting Between 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years
---------------------- ------ ------- -------
2/1/75 - 6/30/75 14.0 16.0 17.0
7/1/75 - 6/30/76 9.75 13.0 16.0
7/1/76 - 6/30/77 5.0 9.0 12.5
7/1/77 - 6/30/78 7.0 9.0 11.0
7/1/78 - 6/30/79 5.0 8.0 11.0
7/1/79 - 6/30/80 11.5 13.5 15.0
7/1/80 - 9/30/81 8.0 12.0 15.5
10/1/81 - 9/30/82 10.5 13.5 16.0
10/1/82 - 9/30/83 7.0 10.0 12.5
10/1/83 - 9/30/84 4.0 7.5 @
10/1/84 - 9/30/85 3.0 6.0
10/1/85 - 9/30/86 4.5 7.0
10/1/86 - 9/30/87 3.0 4.5
10/1/87 - 9/30/88 2.5 4.5
10/1/88 - 9/30/89 2.5 4.0
10/1/89 - 9/30/90 3 0 5.0
10/1/90 - 9/30/91 2.5 4.0
10/1/91 - 9/30/92 3.0 5.0
10/1/92 - 9/30/93 1.5 2.5
10/1/93 - 9/30/94 1.5 2.5
@ Owners were no longer required to offer a 3-year lease.
* The table provides the history of lease adjustment orders
and excludes allowable adjustments for vacancy allowance,
electrical inclusion charges, type of fuel used and fuel
surcharges.
================================================================
================================================================
================================================================
OFFICE OF RENT ADMINISTRATION CASELOADS
PROGRAM MISSION
The broad social goal of the Office of Rent Administration's
regulation of private rental housing is to maintain an adequate
supply of decent, affordable housing for approximately 2.5
million New Yorkers. To meet this goal, ORA administers rent
control and rent stabilization regulations which are designed to
provide owners with an adequate return on investment and tenants
with protection from burdensome rent increases in a market with a
persistent shortage of decent affordable rental housing. As the
sole administrator of the State's rent regulation laws, ORA is
responsible for protecting tenants from unlawful rent increases,
harassment and the threat of illegal evictions while ensuring
their rights to well maintained housing. The agency is directed
to safeguard the integrity of the affordable housing stock by
providing mechanisms for a reasonable return on investment for
owners who maintain their buildings.
As the custodian of all official rent records, the Office of Rent
Administration has a responsibility to consider and respond to
the legitimate inquiries of the tenants and owners of the more
than one million regulated apartments. Nearly 300,000 inquiries
are made to the agency each year requesting information and
assistance, and approximately 50,000 applications and complaints
are filed each year.
ORGANIZATION
The Office of Rent Administration operates within the Division of
Housing and Community Renewal. ORA is organized into six bureaus,
four of which are the major case processing bureaus. They are
the:
Overcharge Bureau;
S.C.O.R.E. Bureau (Services, Compliance, Owner Restoration,
Enforcement);
Owner Multiple Bureau;
Rent Control/ETPA Bureau.
The remaining two bureaus: Policy/Liaison and Management Services
provide overall legal and policy direction, public information
services, automation support, and records management services to
the four processing bureaus. The six bureau chiefs and the head
of the Quality Assurance Unit report to the Deputy Commissioner
of the Office of Rent Administration.
ADMINISTRATIVE CASELOADS BY BUREAU
In order to track the hundreds of thousands of applications and
complaints that have been filed with ORA, a multifaceted,
integrated information system was developed and employed. This
automated system, HUTS (History, Update and Tracking System)
supports the information needs of all the diverse components in
ORA. The HUTS database design accommodates the required
integration of information from multiple years registrations,
from docketing, tracking and case processing. This system enables
ORA to track cases from the time they are filed (docketed) until
the cases are resolved at the administrator's or administrative
review (PAR) level. Case processing statistics, reported in this
chapter, are derived from information entered on the HUTS
databases for all case types.
As of December 31, 1993, ORA had a pending caseload of 55,382 non-
cyclical, administrative cases. Of the total pending, 48% were in
the Overcharge Bureau; 35% were in the S.C.O.R.E. Bureau; 14%
were in the Rent Control/ETPA Bureau; and 3% were in the Owner
Multiple Bureau.
ORA's average monthly intake for non-cyclical cases for calendar
year 1993 was 3,026 as compared to an average monthly resolution
of 2,794 cases. The Owner Multiple Bureau resolved a
significantly larger number of cases than were filed during 1993.
The resolution rate for the S.C.O.R.E. Bureau and the Rent
Control/ETPA Bureau was roughly equivalent to the rate of intake
during 1993. However, intake significantly outpaced resolution in
the Overcharge Bureau.
Overcharge Bureau
The Overcharge Complaint Bureau processes overcharge, lease
renewal and fair market rent appeal complaints from NYC tenants
living in stabilized apartments. Since each apartment's rent is
unique and individually developed, overcharge case processing
involves the analysis of numerous complex issues and calculations
including verification of registration and documentation of
individual apartment improvements. The cases must also take into
account the impact of service related rent reductions and
restorations, MCI increases, and the timeliness of lease renewal
offerings and the collection of rental increases.
Fair Market Rent Appeals are complaints disputing the amount of
the rent charged in a newly stabilized apartment that was
formerly rent controlled. The owner must notify the first rent
stabilized tenant of the Initial Legal Registered Rent, by
certified mail. This notification must take place within 90 days
from the date the tenant moves into the apartment. The tenant has
90 days to challenge this rent with the DHCR, otherwise the
Initial Legal Registered Rent is no longer subject to challenge
by the occupying tenant or any subsequent tenant.
As you can see from the chart below, the overwhelming number of
administrative cases in the bureau, 81.2%, are rent overcharge
cases. The remaining cases consist of lease renewal complaints,
12.6%, and tenant challenges to the apartment registration 6.2%.
================================================================
Overcharge Bureau Administrative Cases Pending
Tenant Rent Overcharge Complaint 21,619
Tenant Non-Renewal of Lease Complaint 3,358
Tenant Challenge to Registration 1,660
------
Total Administrative Cases 26,637
================================================================
S.C.O.R.E. Bureau
The S.C.O.R.E. Bureau (Services, Compliance, Owner Restoration
and Enforcement) handles issues involving the maintenance of
building-wide or apartment services including determinations of
which services are required and what constitutes a reduction in
service or failure to provide a service. The Bureau reduces rent
when there has been a diminution in services, restores rent when
the services have been restored, and secures compliance with DHCR
service orders through the imposition of penalties and fines
after administrative hearings. The Bureau also enforces the laws
relating to harassment and fraud.
Under rent control and rent stabilization, owners are required to
maintain services included in the rent. Services can be building-
wide: elevator service, intercoms and maintenance of public areas
of the building; furnished within the individual apartment: a
refrigerator, stove, air-conditioning equipment or painting; or
ancillary to the tenants' occupancy: garage, laundry or
recreational. The S.C.O.R.E. Bureau processes all service
reduction complaints.
The S.C.O.R.E. Bureau's Compliance Unit enforces owner compliance
with orders issued by ORA's Rent Administrators. The majority of
orders which the Compliance Unit enforces are for failure to
restore individual and building-wide services, and lease renewal
cases. Each order, which directs an owner to restore services or
to renew a tenant's lease, has a statement of non-compliance for
the tenant to submit if the service is not restored or the
renewal lease is not provided.
S.C.O.R.E.'s Enforcement Unit specifically investigates and
prosecutes harassment cases. Harassment by an owner is a course
of action intended to drive tenants out of their apartments or to
give up rights granted them by the Rent Stabilization Law or Rent
Control Law. As of December 31, 1993 there were 1,407 harassment
cases pending.
The S.C.O.R.E. Bureau's pending caseload was concentrated among
several major case types. Complaints concerning services
contained in the apartment such as non-working appliances, broken
windows and leaking faucets accounted for 45.4% or 8,881 pending
cases. Building-wide service complaints such as lack of elevator
service, broken intercoms, unsanitary hallways accounted for
12.3% of S.C.O.R.E.'s caseload. If a service reduction has been
determined and a rent decrease has been ordered, owners may file
for a restoration of the rent after the services have been
restored. These applications accounted for 15.7% of S.C.O.R.E.'s
pending caseload. Cases involving non-compliance with a previous
DHCR order totaled 3,142 or 16.1%.
================================================================
S.C.O.R.E. Bureau Administrative Cases Pending
Tenant Building Services Complaint 2,411
Tenant Apartment Services Complaint 8,881
Tenant Heat and Hot Water Complaint 570
Harassment (Enforcement) 1,407
Non-Compliance 3,142
Owner Restoration 3,071
Other Administrative Violations 76
------
Total Administrative Cases 19,558
================================================================
Rent Control/ETPA Bureau
The Rent Control/ETPA Bureau processes rent control specific
cases; provides research data to promulgate the biennial Maximum
Base Rent Factor, and Fuel and Labor cost adjustments; processes
applications and complaints originating from the Rockland,
Westchester and Nassau County Emergency Tenant Protection Act
(ETPA) municipalities; operates ETPA District Rent Offices;
provides technical assistance to ETPA County Rent Guidelines
Boards and executes the annual ETPA fee billing.
Each year, owners of all housing accommodations subject to ETPA
must complete and certify a "Property Maintenance and Operations
Cost Survey Schedule." Bureau staff members use the Surveys to
tabulate the change in owners' costs and incomes from year to
year. These tabulations are used by the County Rent Guidelines
Boards to determine rent guidelines.
Among the rent control case types are the automated Maximum Base
Rent (MBR) and Fuel Cost Passalong programs, challenges to both
the MBR and Fuel programs, rent registration card updates, owner
individual filings for rent increases, tax abatements, evictions
(both rent control and rent stabilized) and recontrol cases.
For the Rent Control/ETPA Bureau, updates of rent control
registration cards accounted for 4,666 or 62.1% of the 7,515
pending administrative, non-cyclical caseload. Rent control
overcharge complaints accounted for 1,354 cases, or 18.0 percent.
In addition, 12.4% or 934 pending cases were accounted for by
noncyclical cases in Westchester, Nassau and Rockland counties.
The Rent Control/ETPA Bureau processes all cyclical cases. As of
December 31, 1993 a total of 13,060 cases were pending. Three out
of five (59.9%) pending cyclical cases are filings for the
1994/1995 Maximum Base Rent Cycle. Processing of these cases
began in late December, 1993 after the promulgation of the
Standard Adjustment Factor for the 1994/95 cycle. Only 14 MBR
cases were still pending from the previous cycle. Fuel Cost
Passalong cases accounted for almost 3 out of 10 filings that
were still pending as of December 31,1993.
================================================================
Rent Control/ETPA Bureau
Cyclical Cases Pending
Maximum Base Rent 1992-1993 Cycle 14
Fuel Cost Revocation/Suspension 3,217
Fuel Cost Challenge 695
Maximum Base Rent 1994-1995 Cycle 7,819
Decontrol Cases 712
ETPA (Annual Rent Increase) 603
-----
Grand Total Cyclical Cases 13,060
================================================================
================================================================
Rent Control/ETPA Administrative Cases Pending
Tenant Rent Overcharge Complaint 1,354
ETPA (Non-Cyclical Cases) 934
Registration Update Cases 4,666
Owner Cases 561
-----
Total Administrative Cases 7,515
================================================================
Owner Multiple Bureau
The Owner Multiple Bureau processes building-wide owner
applications for rent increases for major capital improvements,
hardship increases and owner applications for modifications of
individual apartment or building-wide services.
Owners who undertake building-wide major capital improvements
(MCIs) are allowed increases in rents over and above annual rent
guidelines and MBR increases, to compensate them for such
investments. These increases are allowed without the consent of
the tenants if the improvements are for "the operation,
preservation and maintenance of the structure," meet all other
criteria established for an MCI and are approved by the Office of
Rent Administration. The Owner Multiple Bureau reviews all MCI
applications and issues determinations as to eligibility.
"Hardship" is the generic term for the set of provisions and
procedures that enable owners to file applications for rent
adjustments based upon insufficient financial return. The four
rent regulatory systems contain varying rent adjustment
procedures and formulas. The intent and purpose of the hardship
provisions are to act as a safety valve relieving economic
pressure on owners confronted with financial difficulties because
of administratively set rent levels.
The pending non-cyclical case load for the Owner Multiple Bureau
consisted almost entirely of Major Capital Improvement
applications. MCI's accounted for 93.6% of the Bureau's caseload.
================================================================
OWNER MULTIPLE Bureau Administrative Cases Pending
Major Capital Improvement Applications 1,565
Hardship Increase Applications 27
Other 80
-----
Total Administrative Cases 1,672
================================================================
Major Capital Improvement Applications
In 1993 there were 1,256 Major Capital Improvement applications
filed, a decrease of 11.4% from the 1992 total of 1,417. For
1993, there were 1,260 separately identifiable types of MCI
improvements (many MCI applications contain several improvements
and where these improvements were identifiable by type they were
included in the table below).
Window replacement (28.0%) was the most common type of
improvement undertaken. Replacement of heating systems (18.3%)
and roofs (12.2%) were the next most common types of improvement.
These three types of improvements accounted for almost 60% of the
electronically identifiable improvements. See table below.
================================================================
Type of Improvements
Ranked by Frequency Of Occurrence
MCI Applications, New York City, 1993
Type of Improvement Frequency % of Total
Windows 353 28.0%
Heating System 230 18.3%
Roof 154 12.2%
Intercom 102 8.1%
Elevators 89 7.1%
Electrical (Rewiring) 74 5.9%
Pointing & Waterproofing 61 4.8%
Compactor 58 4.6%
Mail Boxes 47 3.7%
Water Heater 19 1.5%
Doors 15 1.2%
Repiping 14 1.1%
Parapets 10 0.7%
Other* 34 2.7%
Total 1,260 100.0%
* The Other category includes items such as courtyards,
chimneys, fuel storage tanks, security systems and water
tanks
================================================================
Petitions for Administrative Review
A tenant, owner or other interested party, such as a receiver or
prior owner has a right to file a Petition for Administrative
Review (PAR) challenging the correctness of any order issued by a
Rent Administrator. The petition must specify the alleged errors
and list the issues upon which the order should be reviewed. The
filing of a PAR must be made within 35 days of the date of the
Rent Administrator's order. As of December 31, 1993 a total of
20,850 PARs were pending.
Of the 20,850 pending Petitions for Administrative Review 5,838,
or 28.0%, were in the Overcharge Bureau; 5,704 or 27.4% were in
the S.C.O.R.E. Bureau; 5,640, or 27.1 percent, were in the Owner
Multiple Bureau and 3,668 or 17.6% were in the Rent Control/ETPA
Bureau.
It is important to note that multiple PARs can be generated from
a single administrative determination, such as an MCI, which
affects many tenants in a building covered by rent regulation.
While the Owner Multiple Bureau accounts for only 3 percent of
the pending administrative caseload, more than a quarter of the
pending PARs relate to administrative determinations of this
bureau.
=================================================================
Pending as of December 31, 1993
Petitions for Administrative Review (PAR's) Number Percent
------------------------------------------- ------ -------
S.C.O.R.E. Bureau 5,704 27.4
Overcharge Bureau 5,838 28.0
Owner Multiple Bureau 5,640 27.1
Rent Control/ETPA Bureau 3,668 17.6
------ ----
Grand Total PARs 20,850 100%
Remands & Reconsiderations Number Percent
------------------------------------------- ------ -------
S.C.O.R.E. Bureau 164 18.8
Overcharge Bureau 414 47.5
Owner Multiple Bureau 230 26.4
Rent Control/ETPA Bureau 63 7.2
------ ----
Grand Total R&Rs 871 100%
=================================================================
Geographic Distribution of Selected Casetypes
The geographic characteristics of the origin of complaints and
applications filed in 1993 for four case types were examined
according to postal zip codes of the buildings. As expected the
distribution of the filings were closely correlated to the number
of rent stabilized units and buildings in an area. Large housing
developments in a given zip code, such as Stuyvesant Town in
Manhattan, Parkchester in the Bronx and Lefrak City in Queens,
tend to skew data for Major Capital Improvement applications or
Building-Wide Service complaints for their respective zip codes.
When Building-Wide Service complaints are examined on a per
building basis, it can be noted that tenants in economically
disadvantaged areas tend to file at a higher rate. Tenants in the
Upper Manhattan Neighborhoods of Harlem, Morningside Heights,
Washington Heights and Manhattanville filed Building-Wide Service
complaints at an above average rate. Tenants in Coney Island and
Brownsville in Brooklyn, Jamaica in Queens and Soundview in the
Bronx also filed at an above average rate.
While filings of Building-Wide Service complaints were greater
from poor neighborhoods, Major Capital Improvement application
filings were above average in neighborhoods with better economic
conditions. Rego Park, Forest Hills and sections of Flushing in
Queens, and Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay and Midwood in Brooklyn
reported above average activity.
In practically all zip codes throughout the City, less than one
percent of tenants in registered stabilized units filed
overcharge complaints in 1993.
[Note: the following table is formatted for 100 columns]
====================================================================================================
SELECTED APPLICATION AND COMPLAINT FILINGS BY ZIP CODE AND
NUMBER OF APARTMENTS, REGISTERED BUILDINGS, 1993
BRONX
Zip No. of Bldg-Wide MCI No. of Ovchge Indiv. Apt
Code Bldgs Service Applic. Apts Complaints Service
Complaints Complaints
No. % No. % No. % No. %
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
10451 114 9 7.9 0 0.0 4,545 25 0.6 60 1.3
10452 285 11 3.9 2 0.7 13,757 60 0.4 71 0.5
10453 285 12 4.2 6 2.1 12,361 40 0.3 75 0.6
10454 94 0 0.0 1 1.1 1,273 4 0.3 5 0.4
10455 111 4 3.6 2 1.8 2,468 19 0.8 26 1.1
10456 271 8 3.0 8 3.0 8,402 40 0.5 53 0.6
10457 290 5 1.7 5 1.7 10,577 58 0.5 44 0.4
10458 601 19 3.2 16 2.7 16,662 106 0.6 98 0.6
10459 143 3 2.1 2 1.4 2,603 14 0.5 29 1.1
10460 163 3 1.8 5 3.1 4,516 26 0.6 18 0.4
10461 185 8 4.3 3 1.6 4,868 28 0.6 21 0.4
10462 369 11 3.0 48 13.0 10,860 47 0.4 101 0.9
10463 253 15 5.9 9 3.6 12,027 48 0.4 114 0.9
10464 13 1 7.7 0 0.0 142 3 2.1 2 1.4
10465 18 0 0.0 0 0.0 465 2 0.4 0 0.0
10466 171 3 1.8 5 2.9 4,274 22 0.5 21 0.5
10467 500 14 2.8 15 3.0 l8,477 91 0.5 122 0.7
10468 466 14 3.0 17 3.6 17,555 119 0.7 202 1.2
10469 66 7 10.6 1 1.5 696 6 0.9 18 2.6
10470 79 2 2.5 3 3.8 1,907 10 0.5 7 0.4
10471 87 5 5.7 2 2.3 3,727 12 0.3 8 0.2
10472 189 34 18.0 3 1.6 6,632 38 0.6 64 1.0
10473 5 0 0.0 0 0.0 504 1 0.2 1 0.2
10474 26 0 0.0 1 3.8 848 2 0.2 3 0.4
====================================================================================================
[Note: the following table is formatted for 100 columns]
====================================================================================================
SELECTED APPLICATION AND COMPLAINT FILINGS BY ZIP CODE AND
NUMBER OF APARTMENTS, REGISTERED BUILDINGS, 1993
NEW YORK
Zip No. of Bldg-Wide MCI No. of Ovchge Indiv. Apt
Code Bldgs Service Applic. Apts Complaints Service
Complaints Complaints
No. % No. % No. % No. %
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
10001 131 11 8.4 0 0.0 4,100 25 0.6 16 0.4
10002 501 4 0.8 9 1.8 6,858 38 0.6 36 0.5
10003 766 31 4.0 29 3.8 15,333 115 0.8 91 0.6
10009 574 20 3.5 124 21.6 15,765 93 0.6 45 0.3
10010 208 4 1.9 6 2.9 7,752 28 0.4 18 0.2
10011 725 21 2.9 15 2.1 12,201 75 0.6 93 0.8
10012 333 7 2.1 14 4.2 5,049 36 0.7 29 0.6
10013 240 5 2.1 6 2.5 2,511 10 0.4 17 0.7
10014 664 17 2.6 13 2.0 10,335 73 0.7 66 0.6
10016 481 26 5.4 13 2.7 15,551 68 0.4 81 0.5
10017 90 8 8.9 3 3.3 4,764 30 0.6 30 0.6
10018 58 1 1.7 2 3.4 1,181 4 0.3 3 0.3
10019 433 13 3.0 9 2.1 12,836 72 0.6 41 0.3
10021 1,210 30 2.5 28 2.3 29,674 99 0.3 117 0.4
10022 332 11 3.3 13 3.9 9,147 44 0.5 38 0.4
10023 808 23 2.8 11 1.4 18,322 87 0.5 78 0.4
10024 966 23 2.4 43 4.5 17,480 119 0.7 99 0.6
10025 784 33 4.2 21 2.7 20,402 127 0.6 144 0.7
10026 210 18 8.6 1 0.5 3,232 42 1.3 33 1.0
10027 349 23 6.6 8 2.3 5,798 42 0.7 125 2.2
10028 751 26 3.5 12 1.6 15,899 50 0.3 74 0.5
10029 352 20 5.7 1 0.3 4,659 27 0.6 37 0.8
10030 166 3 1.8 1 0.6 2,863 44 1.5 39 1.4
10031 495 30 6.1 13 2.6 10,028 144 1.4 160 1.6
10032 444 44 9.9 4 0.9 12,194 179 1.5 299 2.5
10033 444 12 2.7 13 2.9 13,843 91 0.7 157 1.1
10034 320 22 6.9 11 3.4 10,541 65 0.6 94 0.9
10035 124 4 3.2 1 0.8 1,528 20 1.3 19 1.2
10036 313 6 1.9 2 0.6 6,067 34 0.6 24 0.4
10037 54 4 7.4 0 0.0 5,094 8 0.2 37 0.7
10038 27 0 0.0 1 3.7 468 1 0.2 0 0.0
10039 64 3 4.7 0 0.0 1,804 24 1.3 20 1.1
10040 295 11 3.7 3 1.0 11,866 90 0.8 83 0.7
10128 639 15 2.3 12 1.9 13,104 26 0.2 76 0.6
====================================================================================================
[Note: the following table is formatted for 100 columns]
====================================================================================================
SELECTED APPLICATION AND COMPLAINT FILINGS BY ZIP CODE AND
NUMBER OF APARTMENTS, REGISTERED BUILDINGS, 1993
BROOKLYN
Zip No. of Bldg-Wide MCI No. of Ovchge Indiv. Apt
Code Bldgs Service Applic. Apts Complaints Service
Complaints Complaints
No. % No. % No. % No. %
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
11201 457 6 1.3 6 1.3 5,981 31 0.5 40 0.7
11203 288 7 2.4 4 1.4 7,159 49 0.7 60 0.8
11204 281 12 4.3 15 5.3 5,142 28 0.5 50 1.0
11205 170 4 2.4 5 2.9 2,152 17 0.8 34 1.6
11206 275 3 1.1 3 1.1 2,485 15 0.6 17 0.7
11207 225 2 0.9 0 0.0 2,276 9 0.4 17 0.7
11208 161 3 1.9 2 1.2 2,294 25 1.1 22 1.0
11209 562 4 0.7 13 2.3 11,356 29 0.3 44 0.4
11210 191 3 1.6 6 3.1 7,021 21 0.3 36 0.5
11211 534 2 0.4 1 0.2 5,417 37 0.7 20 0.4
11212 173 18 10.4 5 2.9 4,648 27 0.6 28 0.6
11213 347 15 4.3 9 2.6 7,690 86 1.1 151 2.0
11214 467 20 4.3 19 4.1 8,716 26 0.3 87 1.0
11215 830 16 1.9 25 3.0 6,500 72 1.1 61 0.9
11216 501 16 3.2 3 0.6 5,135 62 1.2 62 1.2
11217 343 7 2.0 2 0.6 2,805 23 0.8 19 0.7
11218 315 7 2.2 5 1.6 9,098 32 0.4 45 0.5
11219 372 9 2.4 10 2.7 5,746 25 0.4 34 0.6
11220 712 7 1.0 10 1.4 6,464 41 0.6 41 0.6
11221 331 6 1.8 2 0.6 2,863 27 0.9 22 0.8
11222 780 6 0.8 18 2.3 4,861 39 0.8 34 0.7
11223 227 1 0.4 5 2.2 6,306 16 0.3 22 0.3
11224 50 6 12.0 0 0.0 1,356 5 0.4 5 0.4
11225 344 29 8.4 6 1.7 12,711 103 0.8 161 1.3
11226 696 24 3.4 19 2.7 24,168 163 0.7 245 1.0
11228 64 1 1.6 1 1.6 911 1 0.1 2 0.2
11229 226 4 1.8 14 6.2 8,098 22 0.3 41 0.5
11230 384 12 3.1 22 5.7 12,818 45 0.4 62 0.5
11231 173 1 0.6 2 1.2 1,294 9 0.7 12 0.9
11232 196 7 3.6 7 3.6 2,256 20 0.9 17 0.8
11233 311 9 2.9 8 2.6 3,014 23 0.8 35 1.2
11234 31 0 0.0 1 3.2 1,312 2 0.2 9 0.7
11235 308 7 2.3 14 4.5 10,567 31 0.3 51 0.5
11236 26 2 7.7 1 3.8 652 3 0.5 11 1.7
11237 961 3 0.3 5 0.5 5,770 43 0.7 22 0.4
11238 472 7 1.5 9 1.9 6,435 55 0.9 59 0.9
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[Note: the following table is formatted for 100 columns]
====================================================================================================
SELECTED APPLICATION AND COMPLAINT FILINGS BY ZIP CODE AND
NUMBER OF APARTMENTS, REGISTERED BUILDINGS, 1993
QUEENS
Zip No. of Bldg-Wide MCI No. of Ovchge Indiv. Apt
Code Bldgs Service Applic. Apts Complaints Service
Complaints Complaints
No. % No. % No. % No. %
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
11004 51 8 15.7 0 0.0 879 6 0.7 38 4.3
11101 222 3 1.4 8 3.6 2,445 20 0.8 17 0.7
11102 360 5 1.4 4 1.1 4,128 24 0.6 27 0.7
11103 631 13 2.1 11 1.7 5,765 24 0.4 30 0.5
11104 323 6 1.9 9 2.8 6,530 23 0.4 46 0.7
11105 288 17 5.9 9 3.1 3,695 6 0.2 12 0.3
11106 484 11 2.3 20 4.1 6,700 22 0.3 47 0.7
11354 178 15 8.4 4 2.2 5,452 23 0.4 44 0.8
11355 212 16 7.5 16 7.5 11,299 43 0.4 77 0.7
11356 23 0 0.0 2 8.7 120 2 1.7 0 0.0
11357 80 0 0.0 0 0.0 758 0 0.0 5 0.7
11358 158 2 1.3 1 0.6 1,601 0 0.0 8 0.5
11360 18 6 33.3 0 0.0 887 0 0.0 19 2.1
11361 116 7 6.0 0 0.0 1,676 10 0.6 25 1.5
l1363 12 0 0.0 0 0.0 314 0 0.0 1 0.3
11364 737 3 0.4 0 0.0 2,010 9 0.4 14 0.7
11365 304 0 0.0 0 0.0 3,512 8 0.2 1 0.0
l1366 37 0 0.0 0 0.0 254 1 0.4 2 0.8
l1367 250 11 4.4 3 1.2 3,025 59 2.0 212 7.0
11368 185 64 34.6 6 3.2 7,286 18 0.2 128 1.8
11369 25 1 4.0 1 4.0 593 6 1.0 12 2.0
11370 160 0 0.0 1 0.6 489 1 0.2 4 0.8
11372 342 9 2.6 12 3.5 11,222 46 0.4 45 0.4
11373 300 11 3.7 19 6.3 10,307 36 0.3 72 0.7
l1374 176 7 4.0 15 8.5 8,748 13 0.1 49 0.6
11375 292 17 5.8 21 7.2 11,920 34 0.3 56 0.5
11377 548 8 1.5 19 3.5 9,789 23 0.2 56 0.6
11378 23 0 0.0 2 8.7 224 0 0.0 1 0.4
11379 27 0 0.0 0 0.0 746 3 0.4 0 0.0
11385 1,154 12 1.0 33 2.9 7,167 49 0.7 40 0.6
11411 14 0 0.0 0 0.0 28 0 0.0 0 0.0
11413 8 0 0.0 0 0.0 146 0 0.0 0 0.0
11414 18 0 0.0 1 5.6 340 2 0.6 0 0.0
11415 100 7 7.0 4 4.0 3,918 15 0.4 33 0.8
11416 15 1 6.7 0 0.0 149 2 1.3 1 0.7
11417 57 0 0.0 1 1.8 297 0 0.0 2 0.7
11418 75 2 2.7 2 2.7 1,559 11 0.7 12 0.8
11419 24 2 8.3 0 0.0 377 7 1.9 8 2.1
11420 8 0 0.0 0 0.0 170 0 0.0 3 1.8
11421 33 3 9.1 1 3.0 886 1 0.1 5 0.6
11423 103 18 17.5 0 0.0 1,599 20 1.3 57 3.6
11426 66 0 0.0 1 1.5 305 0 0.0 1 0.3
11427 88 5 5.7 2 2.3 1,638 29 1.8 11 0.7
11428 25 3 12.0 0 0.0 496 1 0.2 3 0.6
11432 131 16 12.2 7 5.3 6,948 40 0.6 51 0.7
11433 5 2 40.0 0 0.0 147 2 1.4 6 4.1
11434 8 0 0.0 0 0.0 586 1 0.2 0 0.0
11435 127 13 10.2 5 3.9 6,475 17 0.3 46 0.7
11691 108 4 3.7 6 5.6 4,199 13 0.3 19 0.5
11694 39 0 0.0 1 2.6 1,356 4 0.3 6 0.4
====================================================================================================
[Note: the following table is formatted for 100 columns]
====================================================================================================
SELECTED APPLICATION AND COMPLAINT FILINGS BY ZIP CODE AND
NUMBER OF APARTMENTS, REGISTERED BUILDINGS, 1993
RICHMOND
Zip No. of Bldg-Wide MCI No. of Ovchge Indiv. Apt
Code Bldgs Service Applic. Apts Complaints Service
Complaints Complaints
No. % No. % No. % No. %
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
10301 170 l 0.6 4 2.4 2,684 7 0.3 18 0.7
10302 27 0 0.0 0 0.0 357 0 0.0 2 0.6
10304 29 l 3.4 0 0.0 427 l 0.2 5 1.2
10305 28 0 0.0 0 0.0 419 l 0.2 1 0.2
10306 21 0 0.0 0 0.0 594 l 0.2 3 0.5
10308 7 0 0.0 0 0.0 98 2 2.0 0 0.0
10310 24 0 0.0 0 0.0 262 l 0.4 l 0.4
10314 71 0 0.0 0 0.0 598 2 0.3 4 0.7
====================================================================================================
=================================================================
=================================================================
POLICY AND PUBLIC INFORMATION
As the administrator of a government program affecting 2.5 million
New Yorkers, the agency has the responsibility to formulate and
disseminate clear, consistent policies and procedures and to
respond to all legitimate inquiries from tenants, owners and the
public. The Policy and Liaison Bureau is the legal voice of ORA. It
centralizes all policy coordination, legal advisory counseling, the
conducting of administrative hearings and public information under
the Deputy Counsel. This Bureau provides all the necessary legal
support to the ORA Deputy Commissioner and to all operating bureaus
when issues arise regarding legal policy, legislation, regulatory
codes and amendments, advisory opinions and legal research.
The bureau is also responsible for coordinating the dissemination
of information related to external policy and public information.
This is done through outreach to legislators, Bar Associations,
the Housing Courts, Owner Advisory and Tenant Advisory Committees
and sub-committees. In addition, the agency has produced and
distributed Fact Sheets explaining the various components of rent
regulations. At present there are 38 Fact Sheets in English and
Spanish providing detailed information on rent control, rent
stabilization and the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA).
A coordinated public information program is administered through
the Central Rent Information Unit, InfoLine, Small Building Owner
[SBO] Counseling, Tenant Counseling and Freedom of Information
Law [FOIL] and the Borough Rent Office (BRO) system.
Owners and tenants are able to obtain required information, in
person or by phone, from the Gertz Plaza Central Office in
Jamaica, Queens or from the five Borough Rent Offices located
throughout New York City.
In 1993, ORA's Public Information staff, both at the Central
Office and in the borough offices provided assistance on rent
regulation matters to nearly 290,000 owners and tenants, of which
77 percent received assistance over the telephone and 23 percent
were counseled in person.
In 1993, the FOIL/Subpoena Unit docketed and processed 1,300
subpoenas, over 5,000 Freedom of Information requests, and almost
2,000 other requests for information regarding case status or
building registrations. Despite the large number of cases in the
unit, there were only 527 cases pending by the end of the year.
=================================================================
FOIL SUBPOENA UNIT
Intake Resolved Pending
FOIL 5,159 5,251 455
Subpoenas 1,308 1,270 56
Rent Registration 1,385 1,414 6
Status of Cases 530 530 10
----- ----- ----
TOTAL 8,382 8,465 527
=================================================================
=================================================================
Infoline Calls Answered Calls Answered
January 11,832 July 10,952
February 11,110 August 10,288
March 16,043 September 12,860
April 9,386 October 9,917
May 11,212 November 8,827
June 15,214 December 10,600
Total Calls Answered 1993 -- 138,241
=================================================================
=================================================================
GERTZ SMALL BUILDING OWNERS & TENANTS COUNSELING
Owners Tenants
Counseled Calls Counseled Calls
January 433 1,034 663 474
February 390 924 631 443
March 536 1,390 893 631
April 344 1,015 734 532
May 469 892 654 655
June 565 1,239 795 594
July 387 775 683 378
August 370 646 714 335
September 447 717 833 537
October 399 691 715 502
November 382 631 686 352
December 446 735 749 401
1993 Total 5,168 10,689 8,750 5,834
=================================================================
=================================================================
BOROUGH RENT OFFICES SMALL BUILDING OWNERS & TENANTS COUNSELING
Owners Tenants
Counseled Calls Counseled Calls
January 1,162 2,036 2,434 3,343
February 1,042 2,006 2,151 3,600
March 1,852 2,413 3,399 4,303
April 1,653 1,809 3,067 3,617
May 1,479 1,830 2,856 3,324
June 1,778 2,127 3,690 4,056
July 1,869 2,069 3,254 3,852
August 1,278 2,164 3,266 4,196
September 1,132 1,926 2,991 3,698
October 1,221 1,995 2,881 3,672
November 1,173 1,895 2,805 3,439
December 1,203 1,887 2,412 3,711
1993 Total 16,842 24,157 35,206 44,811
=================================================================
=================================================================
=================================================================
GLOSSARY OF RENT REGULATION TERMS
It is important to note that this glossary is not intended as a
substitute for the definitions, interpretations, etc., contained
in the respective rent regulatory statutes, codes, and
regulations themselves, or any administrative or court decision
construing such statutes, codes, and regulations, or any order of
the New York City or County Rent Guidelines Boards.
Alternative Hardship Increase: See "Hardship".
Ancillary Services: In New York City, rent stabilization services
which are not contained within the individual housing
accommodation which may include, but are not limited to; garage
facilities, laundry facilities, recreational facilities, and
security. If these services were provided by the owner on the
base date, or were provided or required by law to be provided
thereafter, the owner must continue to maintain them.
Annual Registration: See "Registration".
Apartment Services Registration: See "Registration".
Article 78 Proceeding: An action commenced in Supreme Court (the
basic New York trial level court), to review a governmental act
already taken, such as the determination of a case or, to compel
or stop an action by the government from taking place. If
requesting review, it must be brought within sixty days of final
DHCR action. It is named after an article of the Civil Practice
Law and Rules.
Assignments: The transfer of a tenant's legal interest (the
lease) in an apartment to another person. Unless specified in the
lease, a tenant may not assign his/her lease without written
consent of the owner. Owner's consent may be unconditionally
withheld without cause. However, an owner who unreasonably
refuses to grant permission to assign the lease, must release the
tenant from the lease upon request of the tenant upon 30 days
notice. If the owner reasonably withholds consent, the lease may
not be assigned and the tenant will not be released from the
lease.
A lease assignment conveys to another person all of the tenant's
rights to occupy the apartment, whereas a sublet contemplates a
temporary absence by the prime tenant with full intent to return
to the apartment.
Base Dates: The date upon which a unit becomes subject to rent
regulation and the date which determines the "base" for
determining what services the owner must provide and what the
lawful rent is.
The base date for essential services for apartments subject
to rent control inside New York City is April 30, 1962.
The base date for essential services for apartments subject
to rent control elsewhere in New York State is March 1,
1950.
The base date for required building-wide and individual
services for housing accommodations subject to the Rent
Stabilization Law on June 30,1974 is May 31, 1968.
The base date for housing accommodations subject to the Rent
Stabilization Law on June 30, 1971, and exempted thereafter
as a result of a vacancy prior to June 30, 1974, is: for
building-wide services, May 31, 1968, for individual
dwelling unit services, May 29, 1974.
The base date for housing accommodations which became
subject to the Rent Stabilization Law on or after July 1,
1974 pursuant to the Emergency Tenant Protection Act is May
29, 1974.
Building Services Registration: See "Registration".
Class A Multiple Dwelling: As defined under the Multiple Dwelling
Law, a multiple dwelling building which is generally occupied as
a permanent residence. The class includes such buildings as
apartment houses, apartment hotels, maisonette apartments, and
all other multiple dwellings except class B dwellings.
Class B Multiple Dwelling: A multiple dwelling which is occupied,
as a rule, transiently, as the more or less temporary abode of
individuals or families. This class includes such buildings as
hotels, lodging houses, rooming houses, boarding schools,
furnished room houses, college and school dormitories.
Comparative Hardship Increase: See "Hardship".
Complaint: The initial filing in a tenant-initiated proceeding.
Compliance: Owners are required to adhere to orders issued by
DHCR. Orders of the Office of Rent Administration are enforced by
the ORA's Compliance Unit.
Concession: An agreement between owner and tenant, whereby the
tenant is allowed to pay a lower rent than would otherwise be
lawful for a limited time but not for the whole term of the
lease.
Conditional Rental: A rental agreement which contains various
prerequisites or qualifications. Clauses in leases for regulated
apartments which condition rental on such things as requiring the
prospective tenant to agree not to use the apartment as a primary
residence; to only use it for commercial occupancy; or to
purchase furniture or other personal property; are illegal.
Condominium: A form of property ownership in which units are
individually owned and the owners acquire shares in an
association which owns and cares for common areas.
Consolidation: The merger, for processing and/or decision of
proceedings, usually applicable to the same building or
development, which have common issues of law and fact.
Cooperative: A form of property ownership in which a building or
complex is owned by a corporation. Shares in the corporation are
allocated per apartment and the owners of those shares, who are
called proprietary lessees, may either live in the apartment for
which the shares are allocated or rent that apartment to a sub-
tenant.
County Rent Guidelines Boards: As established by the Emergency
Tenant Protection Act (ETPA), a nine member group consisting of
public, owner and tenant members. The Board determines annual
rent adjustments to which an owner is entitled for new or renewal
leases and for various surcharges and adjustments for
municipalities covered by rent stabilization in the ETPA counties
(Westchester, Nassau and Rockland).
Deemed Denial: By statute, PARs not decided within 90 days (or
such additional period as is extended by the parties) are deemed
denied, and the petitioner is entitled to commence an Article 78
proceeding.
Disabled Persons: Eligible disabled persons are tenants and/or
spouses of tenants who have an impairment resulting from
anatomical, physiological or psychological conditions,
demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory
diagnostic techniques, which is expected to be permanent and
prevent the person from engaging in any substantial, gainful
employment.
Disabled Persons' Special Rights: The law grants certain
protections for disabled tenants, which include the right to
refuse to purchase their apartments in a building under a
Cooperative or Condominium Eviction Plan. In addition, an owner
cannot evict a disabled tenant or the spouse of a disabled tenant
from a rent stabilized apartment in New York City for the purpose
of owner occupancy unless the owner provides an equivalent or
superior apartment at the same or lower stabilized rent in an
area near the tenant's present apartment. Also an owner cannot
evict a disabled tenant from a rent stabilized apartment outside
New York City or any rent controlled apartment statewide for
purposes of owner occupancy.
Electrical Inclusion Adjustment: An adjustment to the Legal
Regulated Rent promulgated by the New York City Rent Guidelines
Board for housing accommodations in which the rent includes
electrical service. These adjustments were promulgated between
1974 and 1984.
Electrical Inclusion Building: A building where the electrical
charge is included in the rent and tenants do not pay their
electrical charge directly to the public utility.
Electrical Exclusion Building: A building where tenants pay their
electrical charge directly to the public utility. This charge is
not included in the rent.
Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 (ETPA): Chapter 576 Laws
of 1974: In Nassau, Rockland and Westchester counties, rent
stabilization applies to non-rent controlled apartments in
buildings of six or more units built before January 1, 1974 in
localities that have declared an emergency and adopted ETPA. In
order for rents to be placed under regulation, there has to be a
rental vacancy rate of less than 5% for all or any class or
classes of rental housing accommodations. Some municipalities
limit ETPA to buildings of a specific size, for instance,
buildings with 20 or more units.
Certain types of housing accommodations are not included in the
provisions of ETPA, for example: housing accommodations in
buildings containing less than six dwelling units; rent
controlled apartments; motor courts; tourist homes; non-profit
units; all governmentally supervised housing; and housing
accommodations in buildings completed on, or after, January 1,
1974 unless they are receiving special consideration, such as tax
abatements, for agreeing to be subject to ETPA.
Each municipality declaring an emergency and adopting local
legislation pays the cost of administering ETPA (in either
Nassau, Rockland or Westchester County). In turn, each
municipality can charge the owners of subject housing
accommodations a fee (up to $10 per unit per year).
The county rent guidelines boards (one each in Nassau, Rockland,
and Westchester counties) set maximum allowable rates for rent
increases in stabilized apartments once a year and effective for
leases beginning on or after October 1st of each year.
Escalator Clause: A clause specifying a certain increase in rent
by amount or percentage, per year. These increases may not be
included in leases commencing on or after April 1, 1984, where
the effect would be to raise the rent charged above the legal
regulated rent, except in certain specified circumstances, such
as the annual 2.2 percent increase provided in leases for units
built under Sec. 421-a (see definition).
Essential Services: Under rent control, the owner must provide
and maintain all services furnished or required to be furnished
on the base date (see definition). These services are called
essential services and may include, but are not limited to:
repairs, decorating and maintenance, the furnishing of light,
heat, hot and cold water, elevator service, kitchen, bath and
laundry facilities and privileges, janitor service, and removal
of refuse.
Essential services for apartments can be building-wide, such as
heat, hot water, elevator service, and maintenance of public
areas of the building. The service may also be something
furnished within an individual apartment, such as a refrigerator,
stove, air conditioning equipment, or painting.
Eviction: An action by a building owner in a court of competent
jurisdiction to obtain possession of a tenant's housing
accommodation.
Fair Market Rents: In New York City, when a tenant voluntarily
vacates a rent controlled apartment, the apartment becomes
decontrolled. If that apartment is in a building containing six
or more units, the apartment becomes rent stabilized. The owner
may charge the first stabilized tenant a fair market rent. All
future rent increases are subject to limitations under the Rent
Stabilization Law, whether the same tenant renews the lease or
the apartment is rented to another tenant.
The Rent Stabilization Law permits the first stabilized tenant
after decontrol to challenge the first rent charged after
decontrol, through a Fair Market Rent Appeal, if the tenant
believes that the rent set by the owner exceeds the fair market
rent for the apartment. The Appeal is decided taking into
consideration the Fair Market Rent Special Guideline and rents
for comparable apartments.
Fair Market Rent Special Guideline: The percentage increase above
the prior rent controlled tenant's Maximum Base Rent (MBR) or
Maximum Collectible Rent (MCR). This is determined each year by
the New York City Rent Guidelines Board as applicable to the
determination of Fair Market Rent Appeals.
Fees, Administrative: The Rent Stabilization Law and the
Emergency Tenant Protection Act permit municipalities to charge a
fee to owners of housing accommodations subject to the RSL or
ETPA. The fee is paid directly to the municipality (in New York
City, to the Department of Finance). DHCR receives payment from
the municipalities to defray the cost of administering these
laws.
All apartments covered by the RSL and ETPA, including temporarily
exempt apartments (see definition), are subject to the fee. Only
housing accommodations which are permanently exempt (see
definition) from the RSL and ETPA are exempt from this fee.
Fees, Attorney's: A lease provision which provides that owners
are entitled to recover reasonable attorneys' fees from tenants
when they successfully sue the tenant concerning terms of the
lease. If there is such a clause in the lease, the owner will be
required to pay the tenant's attorney's fees if the tenant is
successful in defending the owner's court action.
Fees, Brokerage: A commission charged for the service of helping
to find an apartment for a prospective tenant. The amount of the
commission, usually a percentage of the first year's rent, is not
set by law and is negotiated between the parties. The broker must
assist the tenant in finding and obtaining an apartment before
the commission is charged. The fee is illegal if in connection
with the renting of a stabilized apartment, if it is paid to the
owner or an associate, agent or employee of the owner.
Fees, Late: A lease provision providing for an additional
reasonable payment when the rent is tendered after a specified
date.
Final Order: A final order is an order of a Rent Administrator,
not timely and properly appealed to the Commissioner pursuant to
regulations for filing a PAR, or an order of the Commissioner. An
order is final as of the date of its issuance by the Rent
Administrator, unless a petition for administrative review (PAR)
is filed against such order. Despite the filing of a PAR by
either the owner or the tenant, an order adjusting, fixing or
establishing a maximum or legal regulated rent shall continue to
remain in effect until further order. An order, or provision of
an order, other than one adjusting, fixing or establishing a
maximum or legal regulated rent is automatically stayed upon the
filing of a PAR, but the Commissioner may issue a specific order
granting or revoking a stay.
First Rent: The owner of a stabilized housing accommodation may
be entitled to charge a market rent when first renting the
apartment after performing qualifying rehabilitation and
alteration to an apartment. Subsequent rents are subject to
guideline increases. "First Rents" will be granted when a housing
accommodation has been created which can be said not to have
existed on the "base date." Examples where first rents apply are:
where one apartment has been divided into two; two apartments
have been combined into one; or a bedroom from another apartment
has been added on to the subject apartment. Rearranging walls
within the original apartment does not constitute a
rehabilitation qualifying for a "first rent." First Rents are
also applicable to newly created apartments, such as one created
from open space where a previously temporarily occupied apartment
such as one which was owner occupied or commercial in nature is
rented for the first time to a residential tenant after a
prolonged period of exempt occupancy.
Fractional Terms: Under rent stabilization, any lease or tenancy
for a period up to and including one year shall be deemed a one
year lease or tenancy, and a period over one year and up to and
including two years shall be deemed a two year lease. Under ETPA,
where the tenant vacates prior to the expiration of the lease,
the base for computing the rent adjustment for the new tenant is
set by adjusting the prior lease rent to the maximum rent that
would be permissible, if the last lease with the prior tenant had
been for a term ending on the date such prior tenant vacated the
housing accommodation.
Fuel Cost Adjustment: The New York City Rent Control Law allows
separate adjustments based on the changes, up or down, in the
price of various types of heating fuels. The adjustment will be
based on fuel price changes between the beginning and end of the
prior year. Only tenants in rent controlled apartments located in
New York City are subject to this FUEL COST ADJUSTMENT. Early
rent stabilized New York City Rent Guidelines Board orders also
contained supplementary guidelines adjustments denominating fuel
cost adjustments.
Garden-Type Maisonette Dwelling Complex: Such complexes may
consist of attached, detached, or semi-attached dwelling units,
containing six or more housing accommodations having common
facilities such as a sewer line, water main, or heating plant and
operated as a unit under common ownership. They are subject to
regulation even though Certificates of Occupancy were issued for
portions of the complex as one- or two-family dwellings.
Guideline Rent Increases: The percentage increase of the Legal
Regulated Rent that is allowed when a new or renewal lease is
signed. This percentage is determined by the New York City and
County Rent Guidelines Boards for leases signed between October 1
of the current year and September 30 of the following year. The
percentage increase allowed by each guidelines board is dependent
on the term of the lease and whether the lease is a vacancy or
renewal lease. Sometimes additional factors such as the amount of
the rent, whether or not electricity is included in the rent and
the past rental history have also resulted in varying
adjustments.
Harassment: A course of action by an owner intended to cause
tenants to vacate their apartments or to give up rights granted
them by the rent laws and regulations.
An owner, or anyone acting for the owner, may not interfere with
the tenant's privacy, comfort, or quiet enjoyment of the
apartment. Interference includes intentionally reducing services
or engaging in baseless court proceedings.
Hardship: Rent increase provisions under rent control and rent
stabilization that allow an owner to apply for an additional
rental increase to enable the owner to either meet a property's
cash flow requirements or to receive a minimum net financial
return. When owners are unable to earn a "fair return" from their
properties because of administratively imposed restrictions on
rent levels, these provisions are intended to provide economic
relief.
Hardship Alternative: A rent adjustment provision provided to
owners of rent stabilized buildings, not owned as cooperatives or
condominiums, who, as determined by DHCR, are not receiving a
total annual gross income that exceeds total annual operating
expenses by a sum equal to at least five percent of the annual
gross rent income.
Hardship Comparative: A rent adjustment provision provided to
owners of rent stabilized buildings, who, as determined by DHCR,
are receiving insufficient average annual net income over a three-
year period as compared to a previous three year period. For New
York City, criteria include requirements that the net income is
below the 1968-1970 (or a subsequent 3 year test period) level
and that the owner is not now receiving an 8.5% return on that
portion of the fair market value of the property that exceeds the
unpaid principal amount of the mortgage indebtedness.
Hardship Rent Control: In New York City, a rent adjustment
provision provided to owners of rent controlled buildings, who,
as determined by DHCR, are not receiving a total annual gross
income that exceeds operating and maintenance expenses and a
return of 8.5% of the current assessed value multiplied by the
current equalization ratio.
Outside of New York City a rent adjustment provision provided to
owners of rent controlled buildings, who, as determined by DHCR,
are not receiving a total annual gross income that exceeds
operating and maintenance expenses and a return of 7.5% of
property valuation defined as the current assessed value adjusted
by the 1954 equalization rate.
Heat and Hot Water Services: By law, building owners must provide
New York City multiple dwelling tenants with the following levels
of heat and hot water (with similar standards for municipalities
outside New York City):
Heat must be provided from October 1 through May 31:
Between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. heat must register 68 degrees
Fahrenheit when the outside temperature falls below 55
degrees;
Between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. heat must register 55 degrees
Fahrenheit when the outside temperature falls below 40
degrees;
Hot water must be provided 24 hours a day for every day of
the year, and must register at or above a constant
temperature of 120 degrees at the tap.
High-Income High-Rent Decontrol: The Rent Regulation Reform Act
of 1993 deregulated, upon expiration of the stabilized tenant's
lease, units for which the lawful regulated rent is $2,000 per
month or more as of October 1, 1993, and for which the total
Federal Adjusted Gross Income of all of the tenants occupying the
apartment as primary residents on other than a temporary basis
was in excess of $250,000 in each of the two calendar years
preceding the owner's application for deregulation. Deregulation
for rent controlled tenants generally occurs on March 1st of the
year following the owner's petition for deregulation. In 1994,
New York City allowed for the deregulation of apartments that
rent for $2,000 or more after October 1,1993.
High-Rent Vacancy Decontrol: The Rent Regulation Reform Act of
1993 deregulated all vacant apartments for which the lawful
regulated rent was $2,000 or more between July 7, 1993 and
October 1, 1993, as well as those apartments which were occupied
and which meet this rental level, but only upon the vacancy of
the tenant. In 1994, New York City allowed for deregulation of
all vacant units renting for $2,000 or more and vacated after
April 1, 1994.
Holdover Tenant: A tenant who has stayed in occupancy past the
expiration of the lease or past the time to quit the premises
specified by statute, administrative decision, or court decision.
Horizontal Multiple Dwelling: A dwelling complex, which may
consist of attached, detached, or semi-attached dwelling units,
containing six or more housing accommodations having common
facilities such as a sewer line, water main, or heating plant and
operated as a unit under common ownership. These units are
generally subject to regulation even though Certificates of
Occupancy were issued for portions of the complex as one- or two-
family dwellings.
Hotel: Under rent stabilization, a multiple dwelling which
provides all of the following services included in the rent:
(1) Maid service, consisting of general house-cleaning at a
frequency of at least once a week;
(2) Linen service, consisting of providing clean linens at a
frequency of at least once a week;
(3) Furniture and furnishings, including at a minimum a bed,
lamp, storage facilities for clothing, chair and mirror in a
bedroom; such furniture to be maintained by the hotel owner
in reasonable condition; and
(4) Lobby staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by at least
one employee.
Under rent control, any establishment which on March 1, 1950 was
and still is commonly regarded as a hotel, and which customarily
provides hotel services such as maid service, furnishing and
laundering of linen, telephone and secretarial or desk use and
upkeep of furniture and fixtures, and bellboy service; provided,
however, that the term hotel shall not include any establishment
which is commonly regarded in the city as a rooming house.
Hotel Occupant: Under rent stabilization, any person residing in
a housing accommodation in a hotel who is not a permanent tenant.
Such person shall not be considered a tenant for the purposes of
the Rent Stabilization Code, but shall be entitled to become a
permanent tenant under certain circumstances.
Hotel Permanent Tenant: Under rent stabilization, for housing
accommodations located in hotels, an individual or such
individual's family members residing with such individual, who
have continuously resided in the same building as a principal
residence for a period of at least six months. In addition, a
hotel occupant who requests a lease of six months or more, or who
is in occupancy pursuant to a lease of six months or more shall
be a permanent tenant even if actual occupancy is less than six
months.
Under rent control a tenant, subtenant, lessee, sublessee or
other person entitled to possession or to the use or occupancy of
any housing accommodation within a hotel, who has resided in such
hotel continuously since December 2, 1949.
Housing Accommodation: Under rent stabilization, that part of any
building or structure, occupied or intended to be occupied by one
or more individuals as a residence, home, dwelling unit or
apartment, and all services, privileges, furnishings, furniture
and facilities supplied in connection with the occupation
thereof. Under rent control and the Emergency Tenant Protection
Act, any building or structure, permanent or temporary, or any
part thereof, occupied or intended to be occupied by one or more
individuals as a residence home, sleeping place, boarding house,
lodging house or hotel, together with the land and building
appurtenant thereto, and all services, privileges, furnishings,
furniture and facilities supplied in connection with the
occupation thereof.
Housing Maintenance Code: The code, enforced by the New York City
Department of Housing Preservation and Development which provides
for protection of the health and safety of apartment dwellers by
setting standards for the operation, preservation and condition
of buildings.
Illusory Sublets: A sublet which occurs when the named prime
tenant, does not and usually has never maintained the apartment
as a primary residence and the sublet is intended to evade the
Rent Laws and deprive the subtenant of his/her rights.
Independent Contractor: An independent contractor, unlike an
employee or agent, selects the materials and methods for
accomplishing a task and, with respect to such materials and
methods, is not subject to the hiring party's direction and
control. The independent contractor does not appear on the hiring
party's payroll.
Individual Apartment Improvement Rent Increases: An increase in
rental based on increased services, new equipment, or
improvements. This increase is in addition to the regular annual
Rent Guidelines Board increases for rent stabilized apartments,
and Maximum Base Rent increases for rent controlled apartments.
If owners add new services, improvements, or new equipment to an
occupied rent regulated apartment, they must get the tenant's
written consent to pay the increase. The owner may charge the
tenant a rent increase equal to 1/40 of the cost of the new
equipment, including installation costs but not finance charges.
An order from DHCR is not required before the owner may collect
this type of rent increase.
For rent controlled apartments statewide, notification to DHCR is
required before the increase can be collected.
If any apartment is vacant, the owner does not have to get
written consent of a tenant to make the improvement and pass-on
the 1/40th increase.
Initial Legal Registered Rent: Under rent stabilization, the
lawful rent for the use and occupancy of housing accommodations
under the Rent Stabilization Law or the Emergency Tenant
Protection Act, as first registered with the DHCR, which has not
been challenged pursuant to regulation, or if challenged, has
been determined by the DHCR.
Initial Registration: See "Registration".
Initial Stabilized Lease: The lease with the first rent
stabilized tenant of an apartment.
In Rem: In Rem units include those located in structures owned by
the City of New York as a result of an in rem proceeding
initiated by the City after the owner failed to pay tax on the
property for one or more years. Though many of these units in
multiple dwellings had previously been subject to either rent
control or rent stabilization, they are exempt from both
regulatory systems during the period of city ownership.
Interest: The legal rate of interest is set in the Civil Practice
Law and Rules and is currently set at 9 percent.
Interim Lease: A lease for a housing accommodation executed in
connection with an agreement to purchase such housing
accommodation or the shares allocated thereto pursuant to a valid
co-op/condo plan and which terminates tenancy rights upon the co-
op/condo closing.
J-51 Program: A program governed by Sections 11-243 and 11-244 of
the New York City Administrative Code (formerly numbered J-51)
under which, in order to encourage development and rehabilitation
property tax abatements and exemptions are granted. In
consideration of receiving these tax abatements and at least for
the duration of the abatements, the owner of these buildings
agrees to place under rent stabilization, those apartments which
would not otherwise be subject to rent stabilization (e.g., those
in buildings with fewer than 6 apartments or buildings
constructed after 12/31/73).
This program provides real estate tax exemptions and abatements
to existing residential buildings which are renovated or
rehabilitated in ways which conform to the requirements of the
statute. It also provides these benefits to residential buildings
which were converted from commercial structures.
Judicial Sale: A sale of property brought about by legal action
generally ensuing from a property owner's failure to pay debts,
including a mortgage, or taxes.
Key Money: An illegal additional sum above the lawful rent and
allowable security deposit for preference in renting a vacant
apartment.
Lease: A lease is both a contract and a conveyance of an interest
in property which establishes the conditions, rent and terms of
tenancy. Possession of the property for a specified period is
exchanged for rent. See "Vacancy Lease" and "Renewal Lease."
Lease Rider: A supplement to a lease containing additional terms,
conditions or advisements. (See Rent Stabilization Lease Rider)
Lessee: A person to whom a property is rented under a lease.
Lessor: One who rents property to another under a lease.
Legal Regulated Rent: Under rent stabilization, the initial legal
registered rent as adjusted in accordance with the Rent
Stabilization Code, or the rent shown in the annual registration
statement filed 4 years prior to the most recent registration
statement (or if more recently filed, the initial registration
statement), plus in each case, any subsequent lawful increases
and adjustments. Under the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, rents
may be formulated in terms of rents and other charges and
allowances.
Loft Board: A New York City agency which regulates lofts. Lofts
are governed by Article 7-C of the Multiple Dwelling Law, and are
not (until brought up to Code) within DHCR's rent regulatory
jurisdiction.
Major Capital Improvements (MCI): When owners make improvements
or installations to a building subject to the rent stabilization
or rent control laws, they may be permitted to increase the
building's rent based on the actual, verified cost of the
improvement.
An improvement or installation which is:
a. deemed depreciable under the Internal Revenue Code, other
than for ordinary repairs; and
b. for the operation, preservation, and maintenance of the
structure; and
c. an improvement to the building or to the building complex
which inures directly or indirectly to the benefit of all
tenants, and which includes the same work performed in all
similar components of the building or building complex,
unless the owner can satisfactorily demonstrate to the DHCR
that certain of such similar components did not require
improvement; and
d. replaces an item which meets the requirements set forth in
DHCR's useful life schedule, except with DHCR approval of a
waiver.
To be eligible for a rent increase, the MCI must be a new
installation and not a repair to old equipment. For example, an
owner may receive an MCI increase for a new boiler or a new roof
but not for a repaired or rebuilt one. Other building-wide work
may qualify as an MCIs as well, such as "pointing and water-
proofing" a complete building where necessary. The Rent
Stabilization Code also stipulates that applications for MCI rent
increases must be filed within two years of completion of the
installation.
Maximum Base Rent Program (MBR): The Maximum Base Rent Program is
the mechanism for authorizing rent increases for New York City
apartments subject to rent control so as to ensure adequate
income for their operation and maintenance.
New York City Local Law 30 (1970) stipulates that Maximum Base
Rents be established for rent controlled apartments according to
a formula calculated to reflect real estate taxes, water and
sewer charges, operating and maintenance expenses, return on
capital value and vacancy and collection loss allowance. The
Maximum Base Rent is updated every two years by a factor that
incorporates changes in these operating costs.
Maximum Collectible Rent (MCR): The rent that rent controlled
tenants actually pay or are obligated to pay to the owner.
In any one calendar year, the collectible rent shall be increased
by no more than 7.5% until the MBR is reached. Other increases
not associated with the MBR system are possible in the same year,
in addition to the 7.5%, such as fuel cost adjustments and
approved increases for individual apartment improvements and/or
major capital improvements.
The MCR generally is less than the MBR. For example, if a
tenant's rent (MCR) on 12/31/87 was $200, and his/her MBR was
$233, then on 1/1/88 (effective date of MBR) his/her rent (MCR)
would rise 7.5% to $215 and the MBR ceiling would rise by 16.4%
(1988/89 MBR factor) to $271.22. On 1/1/89, the MBR would remain
the same (since MBRs cover a two year period), but the MCR would
rise by another 7.5% to $231.12.
Month-to-Month Tenants: Tenants including regulated tenants (but
not rent control tenants who are referred to as statutory
tenants) who do not have leases and pay rent on a monthly basis.
Multi-Tier Rent: Housing developments receiving assistance or
financing from governmental agencies or public benefit
corporations, or existing regulation under the Private Housing
Finance Law or other state or federal laws, may, by agreement
between DHCR and such other government agencies, register higher
and lower initial legal regulated rents for units subject to
occupancy and rent restrictions under the previous regulatory or
governmental financing plan. This dual level of rents is referred
to as "multi-tier." These rents may then be adjusted according to
the RSL or RSC but cannot be challenged under the Fair Market
Rent Appeal.
New York City Conciliation and Appeals Board (CAB): This Board
was the independent, quasi-governmental agency which administered
the Rent Stabilization Law and the Emergency Tenant Protection
Act in New York City until April 1, 1984. Since April 1, 1984,
DHCR has assumed the functions that were performed by the CAB.
New York City Rent Guidelines Board: See "Rent Guidelines Board,
New York City."
New Law Tenement: A "class A" multiple dwelling constructed
between 1901 and 1929 and subject to the regulations of the
Tenement House Law. Distinguished from the old law tenement in
terms of reduction of hazardous conditions and improved access to
light and air.
Notice of Appearances: The form that must be filed whenever an
attorney or other authorized representative appears for a party
who is involved in a proceeding before the DHCR. An attorney who
appears for such party may instead use the letterhead stationery
of his or her office as a notice of appearance if the information
contained therein substantially conforms to the information
required by the DHCR prescribed form.
Occupant: Under rent stabilization a person, other than a tenant
or a member of a tenant's immediate family, occupying a premises
with the consent of the tenant. Such person shall not be
considered a tenant for the purposes of the Rent Stabilization
Code.
Office of Rent Administration (ORA): The office within DHCR that
administers the four rent regulatory systems; rent control and
rent stabilization for New York City, and rent control and rent
stabilization for various municipalities outside New York City.
Old Law Tenement: A "class A" multiple dwelling constructed
before 1901 and subject to the regulations of the Tenement House
Law.
Omnibus Housing Act: The law signed by Governor Mario M. Cuomo on
June 30, 1983, as Chapter 403, mandated that DHCR assume
responsibility for the administration of rent control and rent
stabilization in New York City commencing April 1, 1984. In
assuming this responsibility, DHCR phased out the regulatory
functions of the entities formerly responsible for those systems
-- the Conciliation and Appeals Board (C.A.B.) which had
administered rent stabilization, and the Division of Rent Control
of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and
Development's (HPD) Office of Rent and Housing Maintenance, which
had administered rent control. It also made many changes in rent
and landlord-tenant laws, including the initiation of a system of
registration of rents and services by owners with DHCR.
Overcharge: Any additional charges or fees for a service already
included in the rent or in excess of the lawful rent. Examples
includes illegal brokerage fee; excess security; tax abatement
overcharge; excess rent charge; collection of guideline(s)
increase when a service reduction is outstanding.
Owner: A fee owner, lessor, sublessor, assignee, net lessee, or a
proprietary lessee of a housing accommodation in a structure or
premises owned by a cooperative corporation or association, or an
owner of a condominium unit or the sponsor of such corporation or
association or condominium development, or any other person or
entity, or agent of same, receiving or entitled to receive rent
for the use or occupation of any housing accommodation.
Permanently Exempt Housing (from the RSL or ETPA): These include:
(1) A rent controlled apartment.
(2) Housing accommodations owned by the United States, the State
of New York, any political subdivision, agency or
instrumentality thereof, any municipality or any public
housing authority.
(3) Housing accommodations for which rentals are fixed by DHCR,
HPD or UDC pursuant to laws other than the RSL and/or ETPA
and which do not become subject to the RSL and Code after
the establishment of initial rents pursuant to such other
laws.
(4) A building containing fewer than six housing accommodations
on the date the building otherwise would have been first
subject to the RSL. (which do not go to six or more units
thereafter).
(5) Housing accommodations in buildings completed or buildings
substantially rehabilitated as family units on or after
January 1, 1974, except such buildings which are made
subject to stabilization by provisions of the RSL or any
other statute.
(6) Housing accommodations owned by a hospital, convent,
monastery, asylum, public institution, or college or school
dormitory or any institution operated exclusively for
charitable or educational purposes on a non-profit basis,
and occupied by a tenant whose initial occupancy is
contingent upon an affiliation with such institution.
(7) Under RSL, rooms or other housing accommodations in hotels
where such housing accommodations were rented on May 31,
1968 for more than $350.00 per month or $88.00 per week or
are contained in a hotel which was constructed after July 1,
1969. Under ETPA, all hotel rooms are exempt.
(8) Housing accommodations in any motor court, any trailer, or
trailer space used exclusively for transient occupancy or
any part thereof; or any tourist home serving transients
exclusively.
(9) Housing accommodations in buildings operated exclusively for
charitable purposes on a non-profit basis.
(10) Housing accommodations contained in buildings owned as
cooperatives or condominiums not occupied by non-purchasing
tenants, under RSL, or not occupied by non-purchasing
tenants or subsequent rental tenants who moved in before
July 7, 1993, under ETPA.
(11) Housing accommodations used exclusively for professional,
commercial or other nonresidential purposes in accordance
with the certificate of occupancy.
(12) Housing accommodations in buildings completed or
substantially rehabilitated as family units on or after
January 1, 1974 or located in a building containing less
than six housing accommodations, and made subject to the RSL
and Code solely as a condition of receiving "J-51" Tax
benefits or Article XVIII PHFL funding; and thereafter
receipt of such tax benefits and supervisory period has
concluded and such housing accommodations became vacant; or,
each lease and each renewal of the tenant in occupancy when
the benefit or supervisory period concluded includes a
notice informing such tenant that the housing accommodations
shall become deregulated upon the expiration of the last
lease entered into during the tax benefit or supervisory
period and states the approximate date on which such
benefits and supervisory period are scheduled to expire.
(13) Same as Item 12 except that the benefit in question is
granted under Section 421-a of the Real Property Tax Law and
the housing accommodations became vacant after the
expiration of the benefit period; or, for housing
accommodations which first became subject to rent
stabilization pursuant to 421-a after July 3, 1984 each
lease and each renewal of the tenant in occupancy at the
time the period of exemption pursuant to 421-a expires,
contain the same notice as that discussed in Item 12, above.
(14) Housing accommodations which would be subject to the RSL and
Code solely by reason of the Loft Law but are exempted from
the Loft Law under Sections 286(6) and 286(12) of the MDL.
(15) High-rent or high-income decontrolled housing accommodations
(see definitions).
The owner is required to file an annual apartment registration as
of the April 1st date, following the permanent exemption and need
not file subsequent registrations for that apartment.
Petition for Administrative Review: An appeal from an
Administrator's Order. An owner, tenant, or other party aggrieved
by a Rent Administrator's order may file a Petition for
Administrative Review (PAR) with DHCR. The petition must specify
the alleged errors and list the issues upon which the order
should be reviewed. The scope of review in the PAR proceeding is
generally limited to the facts or evidence which were both
presented to the Rent Administrator and raised in the PAR. A PAR
must be filed within 35 days after the Administrator's order is
issued.
Plain English Lease: Leases must use words with common and
everyday meanings and must be clear and coherent.
Preferential Rent: A rent charged by an owner to a tenant which
is less than the established legal regulated rent, where there
exists a special relationship between the owner and tenant for
example, familial or employer/employee.
Owners must base all renewal lease increases on the preferential
rent until the tenant vacates the apartment. The next tenant may
be charged the higher legal regulated rent previously established
plus the most recent applicable guidelines increases and other
such increases as are permitted as for example, that for new
equipment. (also see "Concession")
Primary Residence: For an apartment to remain in its rent
regulated status (stabilized or controlled), the tenant must
occupy it as his or her primary residence. The test as to whether
a tenant is occupying the apartment as a primary residence
includes, but is not limited to, consideration of the following
factors: Does the tenant file a New York City Resident Tax Return
from the subject address or show a valid reason for not filing,
such as an income below taxable level? Does the tenant meet the
definition of "resident" for tax purposes, either domicile or
residence for 183 days of the year? What do the tenant's driver's
license, voter registration card, or other such documents show as
to the tenant's address? Does the tenant sublet or assign the
apartment? Primary residence issues are now determined by the
courts.
Prime Tenant: (See "Sublets")
Registration: All rent stabilized housing accommodations in New
York State must be registered with DHCR. Owners are required to
provide annual information on individual apartments, building
status and types of units.
Registration, Annual: Owners are required to register all rent
stabilized apartments with DHCR by filing an Annual Apartment
Registration Form which lists rents, tenancy and services in
effect on April 1st of each year.
Registration, Apartment Services: On the initial apartment
registration form, owners must specify services provided to an
apartment, such as a stove or refrigerator. Additionally, on the
annual apartment registration form, changes in services resulting
in rent increases or decreases must be recorded.
Registration, Building Services: Owners must specify services
provided for the building, such as elevator service, on the
initial building registration form.
Registration. Initial: The initial registration of a rent
stabilized apartment with DHCR. By June 30, 1984 owners were
required to file an initial registration for each stabilized
apartment they owned, with data as of April 1, 1984.
Subsequently, owners are required to file an initial
registration, within 90 days, after an apartment first becomes
subject to the Rent Stabilization Law. The owner is required to
provide the current tenant a copy of this registration and retain
proof that the tenant received it. A building registration form,
which includes a listing of building-wide services, must also be
completed at the time of the initial registration of apartments.
Registration, Tenant Challenge: A tenant challenge claiming that
the Initial Legal Registered Rent filed by the owner is above the
legal rent for the rent stabilized apartment. This claim must be
made to DHCR within 90 days of the tenant's receipt of his/her
copy of the Initial Apartment Registration form filed by the
owner.
Renewal Lease: The lease of a tenant in occupancy renewing the
terms of the first, vacancy lease entered into between the tenant
and owner for an additional term. Tenants in rent stabilized
apartments, including those tenants who receive a New York City
Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE), have the right to
select a lease renewal for a one or two year term.
The renewal lease must be on the same terms and conditions as the
expiring lease unless a change is necessary to comply with a
specific law or regulation or is otherwise authorized by the rent
regulation.
The owner may charge the tenant a Rent Guidelines Board
authorized increase based on the length of the renewal lease term
selected by the tenant. The law permits the owner to raise the
rent during the lease term if the Rent Guidelines rate was not
finalized when the tenant signed the lease renewal offer. A space
appears on the Renewal Lease Form for the owner to either enter
the rent increase or check the box indicating that the authorized
increase is unknown at the time of the offer (which must be 120-
150 days in New York City and 90-120 days in the ETPA counties
before the expiration date of the existing lease).
A renewal lease should go into effect on or after the date that
it is signed and returned to the tenant and on the day following
expiration of the prior lease. In general, the lease and any rent
increase may not begin retroactively.
Penalties are imposed when an owner does not timely offer the
tenant a renewal lease or timely return to the tenant an executed
copy thereof.
Rent: Consideration, charge, fee or other thing of value,
including any bonus, benefit or gratuity demanded or received
for, or in connection with, the use or occupation of housing
accommodations or the transfer of a lease for such housing
accommodations.
Rent Control: The rent regulation program which generally applies
to residential buildings constructed before February, 1947 in
municipalities for which an end to the postwar rental housing
emergency has not been declared. A total of 51 municipalities
have rent control, including New York City, Albany, Buffalo and
various cities, towns, and villages in Albany, Erie, Nassau,
Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Westchester counties.
For an apartment to be under rent control, the tenant must
generally have been living there continuously since before July
1, 1971 (succession rights, see definition). When a rent
controlled apartment becomes vacant, it either becomes rent
stabilized or is removed from regulation, generally becoming
stabilized if the building has six or more units and if the
community has adopted ETPA. Formerly controlled apartments may
have been decontrolled on various other grounds.
Rent control limits the rent an owner may charge for an apartment
and restricts the right of an owner to evict tenants. It also
obligates the owner to provide essential services and equipment.
Outside New York City, DHCR determines maximum allowable rates of
rent increases. Owners may apply for these increases every two
years. Inside New York City rent increases are governed by the
MBR system.
Rent Guidelines Board. New York City: The Board appointed by the
Mayor and consisting of two members who represent tenants, two
members who represent the real estate industry and five public
members who promulgate rent guidelines orders establishing rent
increases for the guidelines year running October 1-September 30
of the following year. For ETPA counties see "County Rent
Guidelines Board."
Rent Guideline Orders: Rent guideline orders are issued by the
rent guidelines boards annually, usually about July 1. For the
most part, they establish the percentage increases which may be
given to rent stabilized/ETPA apartments upon lease renewal and
for new leases. These increases are based on the review of
operating expenses and other cost of living data.
Rent Reductions Due to Decreased Services: Tenants in rent-
regulated apartments can file individual and building-wide
complaints if required or essential services are not being
provided. That action could result in a rent reduction.
If the evidence indicates that the owner failed to maintain
required services, DHCR issues a rent reduction order which also
directs the owner to restore the services. A reduction in rent
starts on the "effective date" specified in the Order and remains
in effect until DHCR issues an order restoring the rent upon an
owner's application for same. In addition, in rent stabilized
apartments, the order finding a reduction in services bars the
owner from collecting any further increases in rent until full
services are restored. For a rent stabilized apartment located in
New York City, DHCR is required to reduce the rent where DHCR
finds a diminution of service.
The rent reduction consists of a percentage equal to the
guidelines increase including any vacancy allowance or other
applicable allowance in effect on the effective date of the
Order.
If a tenant lives in a rent controlled apartment, the rent
reduction, a specific dollar amount, becomes effective the first
day of the month following DHCR's issuance of the order.
Rent Stabilization: In New York City, rent stabilized apartments
are generally those apartments in buildings of six or more units
built between February 1, 1947 and January 1, 1974. Tenants in
buildings built before February 1, 1947, who moved in after June
30, 1971 are also covered by rent stabilization. A third category
of rent stabilized apartments covers buildings subject to
regulation by virtue of various governmental supervision or tax
benefit programs; in some cases, a building with as few as three
units may be stabilized. Generally, these buildings are
stabilized only while the tax benefits or governmental
supervision continues.
Outside New York City, rent stabilization applies to non-rent
controlled apartments in buildings of six or more units built
before January 1, 1974 in the localities that adopted the
Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA) in Nassau, Westchester and
Rockland counties. Some municipalities limit ETPA to buildings of
a specific size but never less than six units.
As does rent control, stabilization provides other protections to
tenants besides regulation of rental amounts. Tenants are
entitled to receive required services, to have their leases
renewed, and not to be evicted except on grounds allowed by law.
Leases may be entered into and renewed for one or two year terms,
at the tenant's choice.
Rent Stabilization Code: The Rent Stabilization Code is the body
of regulations used by DHCR to implement the Rent Stabilization
Law and ETPA in New York City. These regulations affect nearly 1
million rent stabilized apartments in New York City.
Chapter 888 of the Laws of 1985 authorized the Division of
Housing and Community Renewal to amend the Rent Stabilization
Code for New York City. The current Rent Stabilization Code
became effective on May 1, 1987.
Rent Stabilization Lease Rider: By law, an owner must include a
copy of the Rent Stabilization Rider with a tenant's lease. The
Rider describes the rights and obligations of tenants and owners
under the Rent Stabilization Law. The Rider is only
informational; its provisions do not modify or become part of the
lease. Nor does it replace or modify the Rent Stabilization Law
or Code, or any order from the Division of Housing and Community
Renewal (DHCR) or the New York City Rent Guidelines Board.
The Rider informs a rent stabilized tenant signing a vacancy
lease of the legal regulated rent in effect immediately prior to
the vacancy and explains how the present rent was computed.
Rental Vacancy Rate: The percentage of the total rental units in
an area that are vacant and available for occupancy.
Required Services: Under rent stabilization, an owner must
maintain all services required by the Rent Stabilization Law, or
the ETPA, on the base date. (see "Base Date") These services are
called required services and include, but are not limited to:
repairs, decorating and maintenance, the furnishing of light,
heat, hot and cold water, elevator services, janitorial services
and removal of refuse.
Required services for apartments can be building-wide, such as
heat, hot water, elevator service, and maintenance of public
areas of the building. The service may also be something
furnished within an individual apartment, such as a refrigerator,
stove, air conditioning equipment, or painting.
When an owner provides equipment or services, such as a
refrigerator or an air conditioner, the owner must maintain it in
good working order. Defective equipment must be repaired or
replaced. The owner does not have to replace defective equipment
with brand new equipment.
The defective equipment can be replaced with reconditioned or
used equipment, provided the equipment is in good working order.
The owner is not entitled to any increase in rent based on the
cost of replacement with reconditioned or used equipment or new
equipment when the owner cannot locate serviceable, equivalent
used equipment.
If an appliance is replaced with a new one, the owner may be
entitled to a rent increase. Official approval by DHCR is not
necessary in rent stabilized apartments in New York City.
However, the tenant's written consent is required before the
owner may collect the increase. In such cases, the owner may
charge the tenant a rent increase equal to 1/40th of the cost of
the new equipment, including installation costs, but not
including finance charges.
If an installation of new equipment is done while the apartment
is vacant, the new tenant's consent is not required for the owner
to collect a 1/40th increase.
Room: The definition of a room for MCI purposes only is as
follows:
(1) A windowless kitchen containing at least 59 square feet or a
kitchen of any size with a window. In either case, a kitchen
must be enclosed by at least three sides, excluding the
side(s) that contain(s) the entranceway.
(2) An enclosed area with window containing at least 60 square
feet.
(3) An enclosed area without window containing at least 80
square feet.
Bathrooms, walk-in closets, porches, terraces and hallways are
not rooms.
An "enclosed area" is an area bounded by ceiling-to-floor walls,
one or more of which may contain an entranceway.
Rooming House: Under rent control, in addition to its customary
usage, a building or portion of a building, other than an
apartment rented for single-room occupancy, in which housing
accommodations are rented, on a short-term basis of daily, weekly
or monthly occupancy, to more than two occupants for whom rent is
paid, not members of the landlord's immediate family. The term
shall include boarding houses, dormitories, trailers not a part
of a motor court, residence clubs, tourist homes and all other
establishments of a similar nature, except a hotel or a motor
court.
Section 421-a Program: Under this section of the Real Property
Tax Law, new multiple dwellings in New York City receive, under
certain conditions, property tax abatements. For the duration of
the abatements, at least, the apartments are rent regulated. This
program provides real estate tax exemptions and abatements to
newly constructed units.
Security Deposit: Money that a tenant deposits with the owner of
the apartment to insure against the cost of repair for any
damages to the apartment that the tenant is responsible for.
The amount of a security deposit is limited to no more than one
month's rent. However, if two months' security deposit was
collected from a tenant by the owner when the apartment first
came under rent stabilization, and the same tenant is still
occupying the apartment, the two months' requirement is valid.
The next tenant cannot be required to deposit more than one
month's rent as security.
When a lease is renewed at a higher rental amount, the owner can
collect additional money from the tenant to bring the security
deposit up to the new monthly rent. Even though tenants may be
exempt from paying a lease increase because of their Senior
Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE), they must still pay the
increased security.
The security deposit must be kept by the owner in an interest-
bearing account in a New York State bank. The owner must notify
the tenant of the name and address of the bank and credit the
tenant the full annual interest, less up to 1% of the security
deposit per year for the owner's administrative costs. The tenant
can choose whether the interest is to be subtracted from the
rent, held in trust until the end of the tenancy, or paid in a
lump sum at the end of each year.
Senior Citizens' Special Rights: The law grants certain
exemptions from rent increases to tenants who are senior
citizens.
If a New York City tenant or tenant's spouse is 62 years of age
or over (living in a rent regulated apartment) and the combined
household income is $16,500 per year or less and they are paying
at least 1/3 of their income toward their rent, the tenant may
apply for the SENIOR CITIZEN RENT INCREASE EXEMPTION (SCRIE). In
New York City, the Department for the Aging (DFTA) administers
the SCRIE program. In the counties outside of New York City,
covered by the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, the Division of
Housing and Community Renewal administers the SCRIE program.
Outside of New York City, Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption
is a local option, and communities have different income
eligibility limits and regulations.
If a New York City tenant qualifies for this program, the tenant
is exempt from future rent guidelines increases, Maximum Base
Rent increases, fuel cost adjustments, MCI increases, and
increases based on the owner's economic hardship. New York City
senior citizen tenants may also carry this exemption from one
apartment to another upon moving, upon the proper application
being made to DFTA.
Other rights for New York City senior citizens include:
1. If a building is being converted to cooperative or
condominium ownership under an Eviction Plan, an "eligible
senior citizen" can nevertheless refuse to purchase the
apartment and remain in occupancy as a fully protected rent
regulated tenant with the right to either lease renewal or
protections against eviction.
"Eligible senior citizens" are tenants who are primary
residents in the apartment and are at least 62 years of age
or have a spouse 62 years of age or older on the date the
Attorney General accepts the Eviction Plan for filing.
To take advantage of this benefit, an eligible senior
citizen in New York City must elect, on forms provided by
the Attorney General, to become a "non-purchasing" tenant
within 60 days of the date that the Final Offering Plan is
presented to the tenants. Outside New York City, there is no
formal election requirement.
2. An owner cannot evict a tenant from rent stabilized
apartments in New York City for the purpose of owner
occupancy when either the tenant or the tenant's spouse is a
senior citizen, unless the owner provides an equivalent or
superior apartment at the same or lower regulated rent in an
area near the tenant's present apartment.
3. For rent stabilized apartments outside New York City and
rent controlled apartments statewide, an owner cannot evict
a tenant, where any member of the tenant's household is a
senior citizen, on the basis of owner occupancy.
4. New York City senior citizens with a currently valid Rent
Increase Exemption Order are not required to pay any portion
of a fuel cost increase that would raise their total rent to
over 1/3 of their household disposable income. Senior
citizens who apply for and are granted a SCRIE order within
90 days after receipt of the owner's fuel cost adjustment
report, are retroactively exempt from paying any portion of
the most recent fuel cost adjustments that would raise their
total rent to over 1/3 of their total household disposable
income.
5. A senior citizen may terminate his/her lease, without
penalty, in order to move into a health care facility or
senior citizen housing complex. If the senior citizen
terminates the lease in order to move into a health care
facility, the owner must receive at least 30 days notice,
and 60 days notice to the owner is required if the tenant
moves into a senior citizen housing complex.
Shelter Allowance: A rental grant provided to households
receiving public assistance under the Aid to Families with
Dependent Children (AFDC) program.
Single-Room Occupancy Housing (SRO): Residential properties in
which some or all dwelling units do not contain bathroom or
kitchen facilities.
Under rent control, the occupancy by one or two persons of a
single room, or of two or more rooms which are joined together,
separated from all other rooms within an apartment in a multiple
dwelling, so that the occupant or occupants thereof reside
separately and independently of the other occupant or occupants
of the same apartment.
Small Building Owners' Assistance Unit: The Unit of ORA providing
special assistance to owners of rent regulated buildings with a
total of 50 units or less.
DHCR's Small Building Owners' Assistance Unit has an office at 92-
31 Union Hall Street, 4th Floor, Jamaica, Queens, and offers its
services at the Borough and District Rent Offices throughout the
State. The Unit's services include advice and assistance with:
* preparation of forms for allowable rent increases;
* lease renewal procedures;
* application for major capital improvement rent increases
(MCI);
* application for hardship rent increases;
* responses to tenant objections to building registration
information;
* responses to Fair Market Rent Appeals;
* responses to tenant complaints; and
* preparation of Petitions for Administrative Review of an
Administrator's Order.
State Rent Commission: The Temporary State Housing Rent
Commission created by the Emergency Housing Rent Control Law.
DHCR now performs the Commission's functions.
Stay: A preservation of the current state of affairs while a
proceeding, such as a PAR, is pending. Parties may apply to the
Commissioner for a stay, or a stay may come into effect
automatically. For example, where a PAR is filed against a rent
overcharge order, under the Rent Stabilization Code, the rent
level set in the Administrator's order prevails during the
pendancy of the PAR, but there is an automatic stay of that part
of the order which directs the owner to refund past overcharges.
Such stay continues until the PAR is decided. However, the
Commissioner may grant or vacate a stay under appropriate
circumstances.
Sublet: The temporary transfer of a tenant's legal interest in an
apartment to another person. A tenant who sublets an apartment to
another person is the prime tenant. The person to whom the
apartment is sublet is the subtenant. In a sublet situation, the
prime tenant must abide by the rent stabilization rules that
govern the building owner.
Succession Rights: For rent stabilized and rent controlled
apartments throughout New York State, any "family member" of the
tenant (see definition of "Family Member") may have the right to
a renewal lease (rent stabilization) or protection from eviction
(rent control) when the tenant dies or permanently leaves the
apartment.
The right to a renewal lease is granted if such family member
resided with the tenant as a primary resident in the apartment
for two (2) years immediately prior to the death of the tenant,
or permanent leaving of the apartment, by the tenant (1 year for
family members who are senior citizens or disabled persons -- see
definitions below). The family member may also be granted the
right to a renewal lease if he/she resided with the tenant from
the inception of the tenancy or from the commencement of the
relationship. Consideration is given to absences from the
apartment for military service, schooling and other grounds.
"Family Member" is defined as a husband, wife, son,
daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, father, mother, stepfather,
stepmother, brother, sister, nephew, niece, uncle, aunt,
grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, father-in-
law, mother-in-law, son-in-law or daughter-in-law of the
tenant or permanent tenant.
"Tenant" relates to any person or persons named on a lease
or rental agreement who is obligated to pay rent for the use
of the housing accommodation.
"Permanent tenant" relates to individuals who have
continuously resided in housing accommodations located in
hotels as a primary residence for a period of at least six
months, or a hotel tenant in occupancy pursuant to or
entitled to a lease.
The definition of family member has been further expanded to
include any other person(s) residing with the tenant or permanent
tenant in the housing accommodation as a primary resident, who
can prove emotional and financial commitment and interdependence
between such person(s) and the tenant.
"Disabled person" is a person who has an impairment which results
from anatomical, physiological or psychological conditions, other
than addiction to alcohol, gambling, or any controlled substance,
which is demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and
laboratory diagnostic techniques, and which is expected to be
permanent and which prevent such person from engaging in any
substantial gainful employment.
Supplementary Adjustment: A rent increase that has been allowed
in certain years in addition to a regular Guidelines Increase for
apartments. The supplementary adjustment amount is established
for that guideline year by the New York City or County Rent
Guidelines Boards based upon the date the lease was signed, the
term of the lease and the county.
Surcharge: An added charge which is paid by the tenant but not
included in the legal regulated rent and is not compounded by
guidelines adjustments. Examples of surcharges are: the $5.00 a
month charge for an air conditioner that protrudes beyond the
window line; the electrical charge for air conditioners in
electrical inclusion buildings (see definition); and for the
installation of window guards.
Temporarily Exempt Housing Accommodations: A temporarily exempt
accommodation is one which is not presently occupied by a rent
stabilized tenant, but may be covered by rent stabilization if
the tenancy changes. For example, the accommodation:
(a) Is occupied by the owner or members of the owner's immediate
family.
(b) Is occupied by an employee who is not paying rent.
(c) Is rented solely for business or professional use.
(d) Is in a hotel or SRO and houses a transient occupant.
(e) Is occupied by a tenant not using the unit as his or her
primary residence, as determined by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(f) Is owned by a non-profit institution and is occupied by a
tenant who is affiliated with that institution, in a
building which also contains non-affiliated tenants.
The owner is required to register these apartments on an annual
basis.
Tenant: Under rent stabilization, any person or persons named on
a lease as lessee or lessees, or who is or are a party or parties
to a rental agreement and obligated to pay rent for the use or
occupancy of a housing accommodation. Under rent control and the
Emergency Tenant Protection Act a tenant, subtenant, lessee,
sublessee or other person entitled to the possession or to the
use or occupancy of any housing accommodation.
Transient Occupancy: Among the criteria that must be met for
hotel rooms, tourist homes, and motor courts to be exempt from
rent regulation is that they are used for transient occupancy.
Whether occupancy is transient depends on a number of factors,
including whether rates are charged by the day, week, or month,
and the proportions of occupants who stay for various lengths of
time.
Treble Damages: The total amount that the tenant is awarded when
the owner has been found to have willfully collected any rent in
excess of the legal regulated rent. DHCR imposes treble damages
only for rent stabilized apartments.
Treble damages will not be imposed if:
(a) the owner can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that
the overcharge was not willful.
(b) purchase of a building occurred at a judicial or bankruptcy
sale, where complete prior rent records were not available
and that is the basis for the overcharge.
(c) an owner adjusts the rent on his or her own within the time
afforded to interpose an answer to the proceeding and
submits proof to the DHCR that he or she has tendered, in
good faith, to the tenant a full refund of all excess rent
collected, plus interest.
(d) the overcharge is caused by the hyper-technical nature of
the rent computation.
(e) there is a roll back of the rent caused by the determination
of a fair market rent appeal.
Treble damages will not be imposed on any portion of the
overcharge occurring more than two years before the complaint is
filed or upon an overcharge which occurred prior to April 1,
1984.
Useful Life Schedule: A listing of the expected life of
installations which qualify as major capital improvements or
individual apartment improvements as recognized by the DHCR.
Vacancy Allowance: An adjustment to the legal regulated rent
promulgated by the Rent Guideline Boards upon the renting of a
vacant stabilized unit. When an apartment is rented to a new
tenant the owner is allowed to increase the last tenant's rent by
the most recently approved guidelines adjustment for the 1 or 2
year lease term, whichever the new tenant chooses, and generally
plus an adjustment called the vacancy allowance. The rent
increase for a renewal lease however, will generally only be the
adjustment for a 1 or 2 year lease.
Vacancy Decontrol: Voluntarily vacated rent controlled apartments
are decontrolled and either become stabilized or are removed from
rent regulation. When rent controlled apartments become vacant in
New York City and municipalities adopting ETPA, they generally go
into the stabilization system if the building contains 6 or more
housing accommodations.
Vacancy Lease: When a person rents a rent stabilized apartment
for the first time, this is a VACANCY LEASE. This written lease
is a contract between the owner and the tenant which includes:
the terms and conditions of the lease, the length of the lease
and the rights and responsibilities of the tenant and the owner.
The Rent Stabilization Law gives the new tenant (also called the
vacancy tenant) the choice of a one or two year lease term. The
rent the owner can charge may not be more than the last legal
regulated rent plus all increases authorized by the Rent
Stabilization Code, including increases for improvements to the
vacant apartment.
Vacate Order: A vacate order is an order issued by a governmental
agency, such as the New York City Department of Housing
Preservation and Development or local Housing Department, the
Fire Department, the Health Department, or the Buildings
Department, which requires that tenants vacate the building
because it has been found to be unlivable. Orders are usually
effective until the health, safety or Building Code violations in
the building have been cleared.
Warranty of Habitability: Real Property Law Section 235-b
entitles tenants to a livable, safe and sanitary apartment and
building and remedies are specified when these conditions are not
met.
Window Guards: The New York City Health Code [S.131.15] requires
owners of multiple dwellings (3 apartments or more) in New York
City to provide, install, and maintain window guards when a child
(or children) ten years old or younger lives there. Tenants with
no children -- or none living at home -- may also request and
receive window guards if they want them for any reason.
Window guards approved by the New York City Department of Health
(DOH) must be properly installed according to DOH specifications
in all windows, including bathroom windows, except any window
providing access to fire escapes and any window providing a
secondary exit from a first floor apartment in a building which
has fire escapes.
An owner of a rent stabilized or rent controlled apartment may
collect a temporary surcharge from the tenant. The maximum amount
of this temporary surcharge may not exceed $10 per window guard.
The tenant may choose to pay at one time, or in equal monthly
installments over a one, two, or three year period. This charge
does not become a part of the base rent for the apartment.
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[Note: the following appendix is not included]
APPENDIX: LIST OF REGULATED BUILDINGS BY COUNTY
The following is a listing of all buildings which have registered
stabilized units since the inception of the apartment
registration requirement in 1984. Also included are buildings
that applied under the MBR program for increases in their rent
control rents.
The list is organized by county, then sorted by zip code within
each county. To help identify neighborhoods and communities we
have also included the name of the local post office station
before each zip code.
NYC Counties
Bronx
Kings
New York
Queens
Richmond
Counties outside NYC
Nassau
Rockland
Westchester
An "*" following an address indicates the building is a
cooperative. A "#" sign following an address indicates the
building has rent controlled units.