Rent Overcharge - Advice Needed!
Hello, I recently discovered that when I began my lease in 2007, that the landlord had raised the rent more than $800 from the previous tenant (who vacated approx 3 months before I took the apartment). After reading up on the law, and carefully inspecting my apartment, I do NOT believe that my landlord made…
Hello,
I recently discovered that when I began my lease in 2007, that the landlord had raised the rent more than $800 from the previous tenant (who vacated approx 3 months before I took the apartment). After reading up on the law, and carefully inspecting my apartment, I do NOT believe that my landlord made the capital improvements to justify such an increase. My apartment is rent stabilized. THE DHCR mailed me copy of the rent roll, which is how I came to discover the previous tenant’s rent.
Has anyone been through this process before? All advice welcome.
I believe that the best course of action may well be taking the landlord to civil or supreme court.
“Legalities aside”? Wow, that’s why we have a dictator as mayor, a private developer stealing land for a basketball team, and a crook running the state senate.
Whether it’s done to a tourist by a taxi driver or to your teenager by a local mechanic – an overcharge is an overcharge. The fact that he agreed at the time to the current rent is beside the point.
It’s disappointing for some posters to even suggest that the tenant is being disingenuous by bringing it up. If the rent was raised illegally – THE LANDLORD SHOULD BE PUNISHED PERIOD.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Another potential example of why rent stabilization as it’s set up in NYC (burden on the LL’s) has done the exact opposite of what was intended to do.
A clarification of something that was confusing to me…
Owner can get rent increases for Major Capital Improvements, which are building wide improvements (new boiler, windows, etc.) “owner submits an MCI application, DHCR notifies the tenants and gives them an opportunity to submit written responses”
http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/rent/factsheets/orafac24.pdf
Increase is calculated based on MCI cost divided by 84 (not 40) and allocated to apartments by # of rooms.
http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/Forms/Rent/ra79ins.pdf
Owner can also increase rent by 1/40th of improvements to an individual apartment. “Prior DHCR approval is not required for 1/40th rent adjustments based on individual apartment improvements, whether or not the installation of the improvements occurs while an apartment is vacant. However, such rent adjustments may be challenged by a tenant up to four years after the installation”
http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/rent/factsheets/orafac12.htm
LOLcat,
You are wrong, no great tax break/incentive or anything like that just for having stabilized apartments.
LOLcat –
Most landlords DON’T get tax breaks for having rent stabilized apartments (other than the tax breaks you get on investment property in general).
Most investors buy property based on current and projected income, so RS buildings with below market rents would sell for less than a similar building with free market rents. The exception being those like stuy town buyers, who overpaid based on assumptions of getting rid of RS tenants and jacking the rents way up.
“As an aside to those who seem to think that a person has no right to complain if they freely agreed to the rent, I don’t think that’s right.”
They clearly have a right to complain. I don’t think that is disputed. But no one forced them to sign the lease an supposedly they thought it was a good deal when they signed. The fact that the law might require them to get an even better deal doesn’t change that fact.
Your point about verifying major capital improvements is a valid one.
Many years ago I filed (without a lawyer and won) an overcharge case w/ DHCR. I may soon become a landlord with RS apartments, in which case I will be sure to play by the rules. Ignore the “you agreed to the rent and you’re immoral”… posts. As altervoce says – it’s a math problem and the DHCR should be able to help you determine whether the rent you’re paying is legal. If you’re paying higher than the legal rent, you can file the overcharge complaint with DHCR
http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/Forms/Rent/#tenant
quoting from the rent overcharge application information sheet…
“Before you file this complaint:
• Call our InfoLine (718-739-6400) to request a computer printout of the Registration History for your
apartment. This will show the rent for your apartment as registered by the building owner within the past
four years. While this printout does not represent a determination of the lawful rent for your apartment,
reviewing it in conjunction with Fact Sheet #26 will give you valuable information about how your rent was
computed by your building owner.
• If you still have questions, you may discuss them with your building owner.
…”
Quote:
Legalities aside — is the rent what you agreed to when you moved in?
If so, then while there may be some legal issues that could affect the rent, it doesn’t seem to me that you are being taken advantage of or anything.
Now correct me if I am wrong but, don’t landlords get tax breaks for having rent stabilized apartments?
I see no reason why it is OK to rip off a renter and taxpayers at the same time.
It sounds like you believe that the rent increase was nominally justified by capital improvements that you do not believe occurred or else were overstated in value. Both are very difficult to prove, but obviously, if you believe that the LL is submitting false documents to DHCR as part you should feel free to report it.
OTOH, if you don’t believe that the documents are false, but just that the LL did a crappy job in keeping the costs down in whatever capital improvements were undertaken, then I don’t really think you have much of a case. I would only pursue it if you believe that your current, registered rent is above fair market value would I consider taking the effort to pursue the matter.
(As an aside to those who seem to think that a person has no right to complain if they freely agreed to the rent, I don’t think that’s right. If the LL states the apartment is rent regulated, a reasonable person should be allowed to believe that the rent complies with the law. If you discover that the LL did not in fact replace the boiler as claimed on the MCI application, or change the windows, or whatever, then both the tenant and the public are being taken advantage of. If the tenant doesn’t complain, no one else is going to do so.)
quote:
I won two over-charge complaints and never spoke with a lawyer. The year-and-a-half of rent-free living while my wife was in grad’ school was a great financial boon.
wow classy. you and your wife are basically deadbeats who used their deadbeat status to get ahead in life :-/
*rob*