Management Basics

File 2020 Rent Registrations Online by July 31

June 26, 2020    

You must file an Annual Apartment Registration application with the DHCR for every rent-stabilized apartment you own by July 31, 2020, using the DHCR’s online Owner Rent Regulation Application system. As in past years, the penalty for not filing is stiff: You can’t collect a rent...

Facade Amnesty Program Begins July 1 for Limited Time

June 26, 2020    

The DOB’s Facade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP) is offering an amnesty period beginning July 1, 2020. The amnesty period will give owners who didn’t file (No Report Filed - NRF) a Façade Report during Cycle 8 the opportunity to administratively close Cycle 8 with the Cycle 9...

DOB Modifies Tenant Protection Plan Form

June 26, 2020    

Owners anticipating construction work in their occupied buildings must comply with Tenant Protection Plan (TPP) requirements and notices. These requirements came about in 2017 through a package of bills focusing on tenant harassment. At the time, among the bills signed into law was one for an...

DOF Extends RPIE Statements, Storefront Registry Filing Deadline to July 1

April 23, 2020    

The NYC Department of Finance (DOF) requires certain owners of residential properties to file the Real Property Income & Expense Statement (RPIE) every year. The DOF needs income and expense information each year to value your property accurately. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the...

State, DOB Halt Non-Essential Construction Due to COVID Crisis

April 23, 2020    

New York State has halted non-essential construction. On March 27, Governor Cuomo amended the executive order, which required non-essential businesses and nonprofits to limit in-person work to curb COVID-19 transmission to include the suspension of all non-essential construction. Following the...

Follow HSTPA Security Deposit Rules to Minimize Consumer Fraud Complaints

March 19, 2020    

At the beginning of March, to kick off National Consumer Protection Week, New York Attorney General Letitia James released the top 10 consumer fraud complaints her office received in 2019. After analyzing all consumer complaints received statewide throughout 2019, the AG’s office found...

How to Comply with DOB's Gas Piping Inspections Requirements

January 21, 2020    

In 2014 and 2015, New York City experienced two deadly gas explosions that prompted lawmakers to pass gas safety legislation in 2016. One explosion in March 2014 brought down two five-story apartment buildings in East Harlem, leaving more than 100 families homeless. And the other explosion...

DOF Publishes FY 2021 Tentative Assessment Roll

January 21, 2020    

On Jan. 15, the NYC Department of Finance (DOF) announced the publication of the tentative property assessment roll for fiscal year (FY) 2021, which shows the total market value of all NYC properties for the upcoming year at about $1.378 trillion, an increase of $62 billion, or 4.7 percent from...

Complete Annual Bedbug Reporting Requirement with HPD by Dec. 31

December 17, 2019    

As a result of Local Law 69 of 2017, apartment building owners are required to file bedbug infestation and treatment reports with HPD annually. When the law became effective, the initial due date for the filing was Jan. 31, 2019. Now, owners are required to file a Bedbug Annual Report between...

City Can Freeze SCRIE/DRIE Rent at Preferential Level

November 12, 2019    

The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) made it possible to freeze rents at preferential rates for qualifying New Yorkers. The de Blasio administration has released guidance regarding renter rights under the HSTPA. This guidance will allow New Yorkers who pay preferential rents...

Building Owner Heating Obligations as Heating Season Begins

October 11, 2019    

During the previous “heat season,” the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) fielded 232,621 heat complaints, an increase of 8.1 percent compared to the previous heat season. The current heat season begins on Oct. 1 and continues through May 31, 2020. During this...

DHCR Decreases A/C Rent Surcharge for 2019–20

October 11, 2019    

The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) recently announced a decrease in this year’s air-conditioner rent surcharge for owners who pay for electricity. It set the monthly surcharge at $24.94, down $1.48 from $26.42 last year. This year’s decrease reflects a 5.61 percent...