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Being overcharged? RS Apartment

NYC Rent Regulation: Rent Control/Rent Stabilized, DHCR Practice/Procedures

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Being overcharged? RS Apartment

Postby NYCBK10 » Thu Nov 03, 2016 12:00 pm

Trying to keep this concise.

The apartment was listed online at $2000. No fee. Broker indicated another prospective tenant (who apparently had a better background and financials) wanted in and if I agreed to $2100 then the apartment is mine. I agreed so long as the lease would be a 2 year lease instead.

I recently pulled a rental history report and see that the apartment is rent stabilized. Also that the 1st year I was living it said Owner Occupied. Also the year before I rented, it says Owner Occupied but there was indeed a tenant in there. I believe family friend. For this year, it shows legal rent as $1600 and the name is correct on my first name and clearly incorrect on my last name.

Also my lease never had a rent stabilized rider either. I actually never received a signed back copy of the lease from the LL. Broker assured me that the place is indeed mine. I had to find out on my own that it was RS. The lease indicates that the landlord is only responsible for cold water and not heat for a 421a building. It is listed in a separate rider that I agree to that. I read somewhere that 421a buildings must supply heat to an apartment rather than each individual apartment controls their thermostat and pay for it.

Do I have any right to bring this up? What are the positives/negatives? Ideally would just like to take a new 2 year lease with a preferential rent of $1100 to make up for the $12000 in overcharges for 2 years.
Last edited by NYCBK10 on Thu Nov 03, 2016 3:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Being overcharged? RS Apartment

Postby TenantNet » Thu Nov 03, 2016 1:36 pm

Your post is confusing. Is this a 421a building? If so, when was it constructed? If it's a 421(a), then was there a lottery?

Please explain what you mean by "Coldwater is only for the lease. No heat for a 421a building." That makes no sense.

What the broker told you was likely a bait and switch. Do not trust brokers - they are not the landlord and what they say means nothing as to your rights. Deal only with the LL.

RS riders are only required on RS leases.

In the future, always make copies of everything you send or receive, including envelopes (for the postmarks). On some documents, always send by certified mail.

You need to establish the real legal rent first. Preferential rents will bite you eventually.
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Re: Being overcharged? RS Apartment

Postby NYCBK10 » Thu Nov 03, 2016 1:51 pm

Sorry. I know it is a 421a building because of when I looked it up thanks to ProPublica. It was constructed in 2006/2007. No lottery that I know of. It is a small apartment where the landlord lives on the first floor and there are 6 units (2 per floor) above. 4 stories tall.

My lease says landlord will supply cold water only. Tenant pays for gas and electric and heat. Each apartment has a separate boiler. I thought that 421a buildings require that heating is included but I guess my separate rider I signed in 2015 voids that.

It is for sure a RS apartment however thanks to the DHCR paperwork I received recently. It says RS next to it and on the HUD paperwork it says 421a exemption building from 2006-2021. Is there a difference between real legal rent and legal rent on these forms?
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Re: Being overcharged? RS Apartment

Postby TenantNet » Thu Nov 03, 2016 3:32 pm

Can you send the address to us via Private Mail (where it says "PM" to the left of the post). Do not post it on the forum itself which is public. This sounds like a mess, especially the heat/hot water part ... I think that is illegal. Most likely you have an overcharge situation. You can file with DHCR, but you might wish to speak with an attorney that has experience with 421(a) regs.
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Re: Being overcharged? RS Apartment

Postby NYCBK10 » Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:21 am

Thank you for all the assistance. In regards to real legal rent, the rental DHCR history looks like it is $1600 and not $2100 that is on my lease. Even if I were to ideally settle for an $1100 month preferental rent for a 2-year lease and the LL then brought the next lease (if I choose to live there) back to the legal amount of $1600, I would be okay with that as all damage has been recovered by that point.
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Re: Being overcharged? RS Apartment

Postby TenantNet » Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:44 am

But you would be letting the next tenant after you be hit with illegal rent. And it doesn't work like that. The legal rent is not something you can agree to a higher amount.
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Re: Being overcharged? RS Apartment

Postby NYCBK10 » Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:59 am

TenantNet wrote:But you would be letting the next tenant after you be hit with illegal rent. And it doesn't work like that. The legal rent is not something you can agree to a higher amount.


Did not think about that actually. They can just revert back to $2100+ after I leave under the assumption that the next tenant would not be aware. Thank you.
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