Local Law 84 (LL84) requires owners of large buildings to annually measure their energy and water consumption in a process called benchmarking. LL84 standardizes this process by requiring building owners to enter their annual energy and water use in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...
You probably know that if you promptly refund an overcharge to a tenant who has filed a rent overcharge complaint against you, the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) shouldn’t order you to pay triple damages for the amount of the overcharge. There are numerous DHCR decision...
The DOF recently released revised guidance on the implementation of the MCI tax abatement provided for in Section 65 of Chapter 20 of the laws of 2015. The Rent Law of 2015 included changes to the amortization period for the calculation of major capital improvement (MCI) rent increases. The...
Rent-regulated apartments with a legal or maximum monthly rent that reaches or exceeds $2,700 may be petitioned for high-income rent deregulation. The Rent Act of 2015 amended the rent threshold for high-rent vacancy deregulation and high-income/high-rent deregulation by raising the threshold...
On Jan. 23, the DHCR issued new fuel cost adjustment factors for rent-controlled apartments for the 2016 calendar year. The prices are based on a study of home heating oil prices provided by the NYC Rent Guidelines Board oil survey, a NYS Energy Research and Development Authority report, rate...
As part of a superintendent’s compensation package, an owner may provide a rent-free apartment to live in. According to state law, the owner can apply this apartment allowance toward the superintendent’s minimum wage requirement to an extent.
The city’s Department of Finance (DOF) recently finalized the real estate tax rates for tax year 2016-17, which began July 1, 2016, and will end June 30, 2017. The rate for Class 2 residential properties (properties with more than three units) is up slightly, while the rate for Class 4...
The NYC Retrofit Accelerator is a free program that was introduced last year as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s goal to create more energy-efficient buildings and reduce greenhouse gas levels. The city is launching a Better Steam campaign to encourage owners to use city resources to upgrade...
The DHCR recently updated Policy Statement 2014-1, which details the filing requirements upon the vacancy of rent-controlled apartments. The automatic rent stabilization coverage has not been changed. If your building has six or more units, a decontrolled apartment automatically falls under rent...
The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) recently announced a cut in this year’s air-conditioner rent surcharge for owners who pay for electricity. It set the monthly surcharge at $26.65, down from $28.94 last year. This year’s decrease reflects the decrease in the price...
During the previous “heat season,” the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) fielded 200,904 heat complaints. The current heat season begins on Oct. 1 and continues through May 31, 2017. During this time period, residential building owners with tenants are required...
From time to time, you may need to ask the DHCR for certain information or documents. For example, you may be defending against a reduced services complaint and want to see the DHCR inspection report, or you may want a printout of all cases currently pending at the DHCR for a building you’...
