Feature Articles

Avoid HPD Violations by Having Employees Routinely Check for Six Key Defects

June 22, 2017    

When a Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) inspector visits your building in response to a tenant’s complaint, the inspector won’t simply check the problem the tenant has complained about. The inspector will also check the tenant’s apartment for six defects...

File 2017 Rent Registrations Online by July 31

June 22, 2017    

You must file an Annual Apartment Registration application with the DHCR for every rent-stabilized apartment you own by July 31, 2017, 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...

Five Possible Arguments to Avoid Triple Damages for Rent Overcharge

May 24, 2017    

No owner likes to get hit with a rent overcharge order. And it’s worse if the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) orders you to pay triple damages on top of that. But the DHCR shouldn’t hit you with triple damages in every case where it finds an overcharge. If you can...

How Courts Decide Who’s a Nonprimary Resident

May 5, 2017    

Many tenants take advantage of rent control and rent stabilization laws to use their apartments as a low-cost second home. They actually live elsewhere, but keep their New York City apartments for business or pleasure. As an owner, you don’t have to stand by as these tenants unfairly reap...

Notify Four Parties When You Change Managing Agent

April 21, 2017    

A managing agent is designated by an owner to be in control of and responsible for the maintenance and operation of the building and to authorize, on behalf of the owner, the correction of any emergency conditions or the making of any emergency repairs. A managing agent must be an individual...

File RPIE Statements by June 1

April 21, 2017    

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.

Large Building Owners to Submit Benchmarking Data by May 1

April 21, 2017    

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...

Cure Violations for Upcoming 2018-2019 MBR Cycle for Rent-Controlled Apartments

April 21, 2017    

It’s not too soon for owners of buildings that contain rent-controlled units to begin preparing for the upcoming 2018-2019 maximum base rent (MBR) cycle. The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) has recently released the 2018-2019 MBR forms. The forms that need to be filed...

Comply with Fair Housing Law When Managing Common Areas & Amenities

March 17, 2017    

In August 2016, the NYC Commission on Human Rights entered into a settlement agreement with an owner for alleged age discrimination. A rent-stabilized tenant had filed a complaint against a large real estate management company because the company opened an exercise room in the building and...

Take Four Steps to Calculate Interest for Rent Overcharge Refunds

March 17, 2017    

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...

How to Get DHCR to Waive Useful Life Requirements for MCIs

February 17, 2017    

If you’re planning to do work at your building and expect to get a major capital improvement (MCI) rent increase for it, you probably know that the work must meet the Division of Housing and Community Renewal’s (DHCR) useful life requirements. Those requirements are set out in...

Online Application Available for MCI Tax Abatement Program

February 17, 2017    

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...

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