The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) has released the 2026-2027 maximum base rent (MBR) cycle forms. NYC Local Law 30 of 1970 stipulates that Maximum Base Rents be established for rent-controlled apartments according to a formula calculated to reflect real estate taxes, water and sewer charges, operating and maintenance expenses, return on capital value, and vacancy and collection loss allowance. 

For owners of rent-controlled apartments, the Maximum Base Rent (MBR) is updated every two years by a factor that incorporates changes in these operating costs. The forms that need to be filed include the Violation Certification and the Operation and Maintenance and Essential Service Certification.

File Violation Certification Form by June 30

The effective date of your MBR Order depends on when you file these certification forms, provided that your certifications prove to be correct. The timing is prescribed in the law. Therefore, the later these certifications are filed, the later the effective date of the MBR Order. For an MBR Order effective Jan. 1, 2026:

1.  Violation Certification (VC), if required, must be filed no later than June 30, 2025; and
2. Operation and Maintenance and Essential Services Certification (OMESC) must be filed no later than Oct. 3, 2025. This form requires you to certify that you are maintaining and will continue to maintain all essential services, and have made payments toward at least 90 percent of the operation and maintenance expense allowance for the building. To expedite your application, it's advisable to file the OMESC form with the VC form by June 30, 2025.

According to a recent update, the DHCR’s online portal for submitting the MBR application isn't currently active. The application must be downloaded and submitted manually via mail or in person. This may impact how quickly owners can complete the required forms. 

The DHCR won't let you increase the rent of your rent-controlled apartments if there are serious code violations at your building. At this point in the application process, it is the VC form that's critical for owners with rent-controlled apartments to have their maximum base rent applications granted and an Order of Eligibility issued by DHCR.

The DHCR will accept late filings, but owners will be penalized by a later effective date of the Order of Eligibility. According to the DHCR, for an MBR order with a later effective date, the earliest possible effective date will be six months from the date of filing of the violation certification or three months from the date of filing of the Operation and Maintenance and Essential Services Certification, whichever is later. The DHCR will accept violation certifications until May 31, 2027, and OMESCs until Aug. 31, 2027.

The VC form requires an owner to certify either that:

• The owner has cleared, corrected, or abated all rent-impairing and 80 percent of all other New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Division of Code Enforcement (NYC HPD DCE) violations that were on record as of Jan. 1, 2025, if the form is filed by June 30, 2025, or six months prior to the owner's certification if the form is filed later than June 30, 2025; or
• Within 30 days of the date of filing, the owner will clear, correct, or abate all rent-impairing and 80 percent of all other NYC HPD DCE violations that were on record as of Jan. 1, 2025.

If no violations were on record for your premises on Jan. 1, 2025, you are not required to file a VC form for an MBR Order effective Jan. 1, 2026, provided the OMESC form is filed on time. If you fail to file the OMESC form by Oct. 3, 2025, a VC form is required even if there were no violations pending as of Jan. 1, 2025.

Document All Work Done to Clear Violations

The DHCR pays close attention to the VC forms. Therefore, owners should be prepared to submit specific documentation in support of the removal of those violations on record. Specifically, owners must establish that they meet the DHCR criteria for violation removal for those violations on record as of Jan. 1, 2025.

The form doesn’t mandate a single checklist, but implies that proof of correction is expected whenever you’re asserting compliance. The violation certification instructions direct owners to “file the form, plus any Requests for Waiver and any relevant documentation of violation removal with the DHCR. . .” Relevant documentation may include contracts for labor and dated invoices for materials utilized for the removal of the violations that are on record or affidavits from professionals confirming the work. If the work was done by a building employee, the owner should be prepared to submit its work logs or an affidavit outlining the work that the employee performed, and most important, the dates when the repairs were completed.