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If a rent-regulated tenant has filed a reduced service complaint with the DHCR, you’ll need access to the tenant’s apartment to investigate the complaint and make any needed repairs. You’ll also need access to make repairs if you’re trying to get the rent restored after a rent cut order has been issued. If the tenant denies access in either of these situations, you must follow the DHCR’s no-access policy to avoid a rent cut or get the rent ...

The DHCR recently revised Operational Bulletin 2016-1 to include changes or modifications made to an apartment that are reasonable modifications for a tenant with disabilities. Operational Bulleting 2016-1 provides guidance to owners and tenants of rent-stabilized apartments on how the DHCR will review the installation of individual apartment improvements (IAIs) when a complaint of rent overcharge has been filed or there is an investigation with respect to IAI installat...

Owners most familiar with the DHCR’s Tenant Protection Unit (TPU) have probably received audit notices seeking either DHCR rent registration compliance for rent-stabilized buildings or proof of individual apartment improvements (IAIs) performed that resulted in significant rent hikes. The TPU also has initiated investigations of some owners based on allegations of harassment—that is, activity that’s designed or intended to cause tenants to give up thei...

The Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE, also known as the NYC Rent Freeze Program) freezes the rent for head-of-household seniors 62 and older who live in rent-regulated apartments. The NYC Department of Finance (DOF) administers SCRIE for rent-regulated (rent-stabilized and rent-controlled) apartments. In order to satisfy the income eligibility requirement, the senior’s household income must be $50,000 or less.

HPD has officially adopted amendments to Administrative Code Section 27-2005, which governs procedures during suspected gas leaks and recordkeeping for smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms. As a result of adopting the amendments and finalizing the proposed rule, HPD has formally adopted the requirements of Local Law 153 of 2016, the law that requires owners to notify residential tenants about proper procedures to follow in the event of a suspected gas leak. The la...

Tenants often have pets that cause problems. For example, a tenant’s dog may relieve itself in the building’s hallways, bark at all hours of the day and night, or threaten other tenants. You can get rid of problem pets, whether or not the tenant’s lease bars pets. To do so, you must begin an eviction case against the tenant and prove that the pet creates what’s known legally as a “nuisance.” This means that the pet is a threat to the ...

If you sue to evict a tenant in housing court for a reason other than nonpayment of rent (such as nonprimary residence), the law says you’re entitled to what’s known as “use and occupancy” (U & O). Getting U & O while your case is pending is critical, since eviction cases can drag on for a long time. And during this time you still must pay the expenses to run your building.

Suppose you sign an initial lease with a rent-stabilized tenant and require the tenant to get a guarantor to guarantee payment of the rent. At renewal time, the tenant returns the renewal lease without the guarantor’s signature. According to the DHCR and a housing court case, you are not required to sign the renewal lease and risk having to deal with a tenant who can’t afford to pay the rent.

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 that HPD considers emergency conditions. If the inspector finds any of these six defects, the HPD will issue a violation against you for them.

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 prove that the overcharge was “not willful,” you can escape triple damages.