Q & A

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Q Does adding an outdoor exclusive garden or recreational space to a vacant rent-stabilized apartment permit me to increase the rent of that stabilized unit? How would I know if this addition would make the resulting apartment a new apartment sufficient to justify a first rent? Is adding outdoor space, a “significant” increase in size so as to qualify for a first rent?

Q I have a preferential rent lease rider with a rent-stabilized tenant. Are owners allowed to have an escalation clause in a rent-stabilized lease provided the increased escalated rent is below the legal rent? Will the DHCR allow this sort of preferential rent agreement?

Q What are the implications for owners of regulated apartments with regard to the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York?

Q My management company took over the management of a five-unit apartment building. Two prior owners ago, the former owner converted the building from a six-unit building to a five-unit one. And the current owner bought the building believing that it was deregulated. However, while at the DHCR office on an unrelated issue recently, we were told that the building was still rent stabilized and the last rent registrations were fi...

Q My building's superintendent is leaving, and I'd like to rent out his apartment. How do I calculate the rent for an apartment that was temporarily exempt for two years and was rent stabilized on the base date?

Q Since the financial crisis in 2008, it seems as though more and more owners are becoming unable to pay for repairs to their over-mortgaged buildings. These owners may be unable to borrow additional money to finance repairs because they have negative equity in their buildings or because they have collected less rent in the past few years as a result of giving away too many “preferential rents” in order to entice t...

Q I'm filing a major capital improvement (MCI) application with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) to get a rent increase for a boiler replacement and hot water heater installation I just completed. The boiler replacement was a conversion from oil to gas. Therefore, I had to get the old oil tank removed from the basement in order to get the new gas boiler inspected and certified by the city...

Q I have a recently deregulated apartment. Is there any DHCR policy or other sort of agency determination guiding how much additional security deposit an owner can charge a tenant for a deregulated apartment?

Q I have a rent-stabilized tenant who installed a washing machine years ago. I just became aware of it when I was in her apartment for another reason. The tenant's original lease specifies that washing machines are not allowed. Can I officially ask her to remove this washing machine? What recourse do I have if she does not comply?

> Permit Installation of DirecTV

If a tenant asks you for permission to install DirecTV, you may not deny the tenant the right to have the system installed, provided that all of the parties comply with the statutory requirements.