Today, the number of rent-controlled housing units is decreasing. It is estimated that there are 16,400 units left with an average monthly rent of about $858. Landlords typically turn to the state to adjust the amount of rent they can charge, and adjustments are made every two years. The rental history you receive from UNHCR is a report of the records submitted annually by your landlord. UNHCR does not verify the accuracy of the records. It is up to you, as a tenant, to investigate and dispute the rent if there is a suspicion of excessive charges. Numerous studies have shown that fraudulent rental registrations are widespread, with the most significant abuses occurring during a lease change. New tenants are often unaware of their rights and, in most cases, have only four years to challenge the legality of a rent increase. If your lease says you`re paying preferential rent, the first thing you need to understand and internalize is that your landlord can likely increase that number by a significant amount once your lease expires and you may not have legal recourse.
In other words, don`t think that just because you live in a rent-stabilized apartment, you can relax. In some cases, this means that rents for supposedly stabilized units can increase by hundreds of dollars. A tenant who cannot pay the newly requested rent is forced to move. Landlords can use this tactic when a neighborhood is gentrified and a new class of tenants is willing to pay more. It is an easy way to empty an entire apartment building, and it completely defeats the objective of stabilizing rents, which is supposed to provide tenants with an element of predictability and, yes, stability. Last year, the commission banned rent increases for one-year leases for the first six months, then allowed a 1.5 percent increase for the next six months of the lease. It allowed increases of 2.5% for two-year leases. These rate hikes took into account the economic impact of the pandemic, according to board members. The first lease you sign when you move in (or the first lease after you are offered a preferential tenancy) should include wording indicating that the rent is preferential rent. Sometimes preferential rents are referred to by a different name. For example, many leases call preferential rent a „below-charge rent” or a „temporary lease concession.” The average monthly rent is about $1,400 for rent-stabilized units, compared to $1,845 for unregulated units, according to a recent city survey.
Each year, the Commission d`orientation des loyers, a nine-member body formed in 1969, approves the percentages by which landlords can legally increase rents for stabilized units. The Mayor appoints council members for a term of two to four years, and its members are composed of two tenant representatives, two landlord representatives and five members of the public with experience in housing or business. A preferential rent is a reduced rent for a specific period of time, as defined in your lease. Ask Sam: What types of problems qualify me for a rent reduction? (sponsored) Preferential rents seem ideal, but they offer the potential for unpleasant surprises sooner. Prior to the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, as we know that recent changes to lease laws are known, preferential rent could mean that the landlord could increase your rent (as opposed to the usual low percentage dictated by the Rent Guidelines Board for rent-stabilized housing). Enter the „preferred rental loan” – the landlord will include a driver on your lease indicating that you will receive a preferential rental loan of a certain amount of money, probably a few hundred dollars, reducing your rental obligation to match what the market would carry in your new neighborhood. Your rent of $1,800 can become $1,200 with this balance. Sounds good, right? Not so fast.
According to the NYC Rent Guidelines Board, „preferential rent is rent that a landlord is willing to charge and that is less than the legally regulated rent that the landlord could legally collect.” In other words, instead of imposing the maximum rent allowed, landlords choose to offer rents below the limit – perhaps because they felt the market would not support calculating the maximum rent. The reduced rent for a stabilized dwelling is called a preferential rent. Where landlords were previously able to significantly increase the rate for preferred units – and thus significantly increase their income from a particular building – they are now limited to the traditionally smaller increases approved each year by the city`s rent policy authority, at least until the apartment becomes vacant. That`s partly why landlord groups are now suing to strike down not just New York`s 2019 rent laws, but the state`s entire rent regulation system. — Looking for your next location in New York? Whether you want to rent or buy, search for apartments in New York on StreetEasy. In order for the landlord to be entitled to charge the higher „legal rent” when the lease is renewed, the original lease (or the first lease that provided for the preferential rent) must have indicated that the rent was preferential and must also have indicated the amount of the „legal rent”. If only the preferential rent was indicated in the original lease, the landlord must use the preferential rent for future lease renewals and calculate the rent increases based on the amount of the preferential rent. Tenants must inform their building owners and the police of illegal activities in their building. Landlords should alert the police to illegal activities in their building. To protect buildings from drug dealers and vandals, the building manager, house manager or landlord must immediately repair broken locks or intercoms. „In the case of temporary preferential rent, it had to be clearly stated in the lease that the tenants initially invoiced could be terminated at the choice of the lessor when the lease was renewed and that this was only agreed for the duration of the lease.
Landlords had to register both legal and preferential rent with the Ministry of Housing and Community Renewal,” says Himmelstein. „If this clause was not included in the lease or if the rent was not recorded, the preferential rent was permanent.” „And if the landlord tries to evict you because you refused to sign the lease extension or continue to pay your preferential rent, that case would be dismissed or stayed until the DHCR complaint is resolved,” says Himmelstein. Rent-stabilized apartments in the city will see the largest rent increase in nearly a decade. Ask Sam: How do I know if my rent needs to be stabilized and if the landlord owes me money? (sponsored) To find out your apartment`s rental history, call DHCR at 718-739-6400 or access your apartment`s rental history online. This will give you information about the history of the rent charged for that apartment and the legally allowed rent. Talk to your landlord or building owner if you think the legal registered rent or rent charged to you is too high. You can also file a tenant complaint regarding rent and/or other specific surcharges (Form DCHR RA-89). Under guidelines that came into effect in June 2019, preferential rents for existing tenants have become permanent.
This means that landlords who have offered preferential rent for a unit must treat it as the new statutory base rent for that unit and cannot increase it to the old legislated maximum at the time of renewal. If the tenant moves, the landlord is free to charge the new tenants the full statutory amount. In 2017, ProPublica provided a deep dive into the phenomenon of preferential rents in New York City and how they have had a direct impact on tenants. What they found was troubling. Read your rental agreement and all drivers carefully before signing. Your rental agreement must contain wording indicating that you will be charged preferential rent. A preferential rent can be described as a lower rent, a temporary rent, etc. Check if the rental agreement provides for a higher „legal rent” in addition to the preferential rent. When in doubt, always ask before signing your rental agreement. Since June 14, 2019, new laws regulate rent increases allowed at preferential rents.
If you pay preferential rent, your landlord may not be able to cancel it when you renew your lease. Please check back regularly for updates. If you have preferential rent for your rent-stabilized apartment, it means that the landlord will charge you less than what your landlord is legally allowed to charge for that apartment. The second system, rent stabilization, generally applies to dwellings in buildings with six or more dwellings built between 1947 and 1974 or before 1947 if an apartment was rented after June 1971. It also applies to newer buildings that receive tax breaks for units rented below market prices. The rent regulation system has been in place for decades to insulate rents from market forces, and rent-stabilized housing remains a critical component of New York City`s dwindling affordable housing stock. The panel, which regulates rents for about one million apartments across New York City, approved some of the biggest increases in years. Here`s what you need to know about how this system works. Start by getting your rental history. You can call UNHCR at 718-739-6400 and ask them to send you a copy, or go to a rental office in the UNHCR borough (with a copy of your lease and photo ID in hand). Emphasize a rental history dating back to 1984, the first year UNHCR began keeping records.