DHCR Updates NYC Lease Rider, ETPA Standard Lease Addenda

Any lease offered on or after April 4, 2024, must have these updated documents attached.

With the DHCR amendments to the rent regulations originally proposed in August 2022 and which went into effect in November 2023, the DHCR had to review and update a number of its forms and documents. As a result of the changes, the DHCR has updated the New York City Lease Rider (Form RA-LR1) and the Emergency Tenant Protection Act Standard Lease Addenda (Form RA-LR1 ETPA). The New York City Lease Rider for Rent Stabilized Tenants can be found at https://hcr.ny.gov/form-ralr1.

For the NYC Lease Rider, the update reflects changes to the rent regulations effective Nov. 8, 2023, that further clarify that the Rent Guidelines Board’s one- or two-year lease guidelines adjustments shall be applicable to both vacancy and renewal leases. No more than one guideline adjustment can be added to the rent in a calendar year for a vacancy lease. Renewal lease guideline adjustments are subject to the limitation of one guideline adjustment in the same guideline year. A guideline year commences on Oct. 1 and ends the following Sept. 30.

The updated lease rider also adds a distinction between preferential rents and higher actual rents allowed due to certain government regulatory agreements/financed affordable housing programs. The regulatory agreements issued and approved by a state or municipal agency or other designated party may provide for actual rents that are higher than legal rents and preferential rents, as long as a government program provides rental assistance for the apartment. The tenant share is governed by the agency providing rental assistance and the regulatory agreement.

Lease Rider/Addenda Basics

These documents describe the rights and obligations of tenants and owners under the rent laws and regulations. They don’t replace or modify the laws and regulations or any orders of the DHCR or the NYC Rent Guidelines Board (NYCRGB).

The documents inform rent-stabilized tenants signing a vacancy lease of the legal regulated rent in effect immediately prior to the vacancy and explain how the present rent was computed. They also contain provisions that are required by the Rent Code Amendments of 2014 (RCA 2014), which are embodied in the NYC Rent Stabilization Code (RSC) and the Tenant Protection Regulations (TPR).

An owner must include a copy of a NYC Lease Rider or an ETPA Standard Lease Addenda with a tenant’s vacancy lease and all renewal leases, personally or by mail, and they must contain the following elements:

• The identity of the subject address and apartment.
• The signature of the tenant and owner, to be affixed at the offering and execution of the lease, respectively.
• Information on the rent paid by the previous tenant and a detailed summary of individual apartment improvements (IAI) and related costs and rent. This section also includes a notification to the tenant of his or her right to request from the owner detailed IAI supporting documentation (such as invoices, cancelled checks, etc.) at the time the lease is being offered or within 60 days after it’s executed, by certified mail. The owner must provide such documentation within 30 days of that request by certified mail or in person with a signed acknowledgement of receipt.
• A description of the rights and duties of owners and tenants under the Rent Stabilization Law, RSC, TPR, and other laws, including information on preferential rents, air conditioner surcharges, and IAI notification requirements.

A tenant who isn’t served with a copy of the Rider/Addenda when signing a vacancy or renewal lease may file form RA-90/RA-90 ETPA “Tenant’s Complaint of Owner’s Failure to Renew Lease and/or Failure to Furnish a Copy of a Signed Lease.” The failure to serve the Rider/Addenda properly or provide information as required by the Rider/Addenda may result in the complaint being treated as a specific overcharge complaint. The DHCR may issue an order directing a refund of any payment inappropriately made plus all penalties otherwise due in an overcharge proceeding.

Copies of the Rider/Addenda are available for informational purposes only, in languages required by the DHCR’s Language Access Plan and can be viewed at www.nyshcr.org. However, the Rider/Addenda must be offered and executed only in English, at the issuance of a vacancy lease or renewal lease. The DHCR RTP-8 and DHCR RTP-8 ETPA Renewal Lease Forms must also be offered and executed only in English.

Effective Date of Lease Rider

According to the DHCR, the time required to revise and translate the documents coupled with the need to give owners a reasonable opportunity to become aware of them, has factored into their effective date. Also, in establishing the effective date, the DHCR also had to give further recognition to the fact that the documents are used in conjunction with the offering of vacancy leases and renewal leases, the latter of which must be offered as early as 150 days in advance of the expiration date of an existing lease and no later than 90 days in advance of such expiration date.

As a result, any lease offered on or after April 4, 2024, is required to have these updated documents attached. Any lease offered before April 4, 2024, may be offered with the updated documents or those previously in use.