Feature Articles

Submit Tenant Protection Plan, Post Notices for Buildings Occupied During Construction

September 20, 2018    

Last year, the city’s focus on tenant harassment culminated in Mayor de Blasio signing a package of bills into law that gave sweeping protections to renters against tenant harassment and unsafe living conditions. Among the bills signed into law was one for an Office of the Tenant Advocate...

Important 'Four-Year Rule' Decision for Owners in Rent Overcharge Dispute

September 20, 2018    

In August 2018, the Appellate Division for the First Department ruled that, in the absence of fraud, there is a strict four-year lookback limit to calculate damages in rent overcharge cases where an apartment was incorrectly deregulated during the owner’s receipt of J-51 benefits. “...

Start Compiling Bedbug Infestation History for HPD Reporting Requirement

September 20, 2018    

In 2017, Local Law 69 passed requiring all multifamily owners to attempt to obtain bedbug infestation history from tenants, including any remedial or eradication methods they used. By state law, owners were already required to notify prospective tenants about bedbug infestations within the last...

How to Comply with NYC's New Smoking Policy Rule

August 27, 2018    

In August 2017, New York City passed Local Law 147, which requires residential buildings with three or more residential units to create a policy on smoking and to share it with current and future tenants. For years, the city has banned smoking in the common areas of buildings with 10 or more...

How to Calculate RGBO #50 Vacancy Lease Increases

August 27, 2018    

If you sign a vacancy lease with a tenant between Oct. 1, 2018, and Sept. 30, 2019, the new order issued on June 26 by the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB)—RGBO #50—lets you collect the vacancy increases permitted under the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997 (RRRA).

FDNY Proposes Changes to Fire Safety Guides, Distribution Requirements

July 26, 2018    

The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) recently proposed a rule that would change the content and delivery of the annual residential fire safety guides. A rule is a type of law that is proposed and adopted by a city agency. The rulemaking process generally takes a minimum of 60 days, and...

Take 1.5% and 2.5% Rent Increases for Renewal Leases

July 26, 2018    

On June 26, 2018, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) issued an order—RGBO #50—setting the rent increases you may take for rent-stabilized tenants in New York City on leases beginning anytime on or after Oct. 1, 2018, through Sept. 30, 2019. This order’s permitted...

Q & A on Collecting Security Deposits from Rent-Stabilized Tenants

June 20, 2018    

When renting rent-stabilized apartments, you probably require security deposits from tenants, in case they cause any damage. A security deposit is money that a tenant deposits with the owner of the apartment for the repair of any damages to...

File 2018 Rent Registrations Online by July 31

June 20, 2018    

You must file an Annual Apartment Registration application with the DHCR for every rent-stabilized apartment you own by July 31, 2018, using the DHCR’s online Owner Rent Regulation Application system. As in past years, the penalty for...

City Council Approves Fire Safety Bills for Residential Buildings

May 22, 2018    

The City Council recently voted to approve a series of eight fire safety bills with the goal of making residential buildings safer. The bills were created in response to the Dec. 28, 2017, Bronx fire that killed 13 people, making it the city’s deadliest fire in more than a quarter century...

Six Exceptions to the Four-Year Rule for Overcharge Claims

May 22, 2018    

In January 2014, the DHCR adopted amendments to the Rent Stabilization Code (RSC). Among the amendments were more exceptions made to the “four-year rule”—the four-year statute of limitations or time limit to initiate an overcharge complaint. Generally, the statute of...

DHCR Issues New Operational Bulletin on Defective Work and MCI Rent Hikes

May 22, 2018    

The DHCR recently posted Operation Bulletin 2018-1 entitled, “The Effect of Defective Work on the Disposition of an Owner’s Application for a Major Capital Improvements (MCI) Rent Increase.” It provides guidance on the granting of MCI rent increases when there are defective...

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