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Hi all! I've lived in a rent stabilized apartment from the affordable housing lottery for almost a year, and my lease is ending shortly. However, my apartment is being renewed on a higher rate that I'm not sure is legal or not.
When I applied on the affordable housing lottery site, the rent for my unit was listed at $1899 (nowhere did it mention that this was a discount of any kind, this was the advertised rent). However, when I tried to sign the lease, the landlord had it listed at $1999. I was made to sign a form that said I would be charged $1899 for this year, but rent increases moving forward would be made on the $1999 rent. The clause in my lease says:
"Notwithstanding the rent reserved on the face page of the Lease, Tenant shall only be required to pay the sum of $1,899.00 for the term of the Lease. The tenant shall be required to pay the sum of $1,999.00 as a Security Deposit.
The Landlord reserves the right to calculate the rent for all future leases for this apartment based on $1,999.00. Should the Tenant choose to renew the terms of this Lease, the rent of $1,999.00 shall be used to calculate such renewal rent. Thereafter, each successive renewal shall be calculated upon the most recent established renewal rent. Similarly, increases in the tenant’s security deposit shall be equal to increases in tenant's renewal lease."
I signed, but now I'm learning that rent increases should be made on the preferential rent rather than the legal rent (as outlined here). My landlord just sent over the terms for my renewal, and of course it's based on the $1999 / higher rent.
My question is, should my renewal / increases be based on the $1899 or $1999? Is this legal, and if not, any idea who I should contact to build my case before going back to my landlord?
Should the Tenant choose to renew the terms of this Lease, the rent of $1,999.00 shall be used to calculate such renewal rent. Thereafter, each successive renewal shall be calculated upon the most recent established renewal rent.
Your rent increases will be calculated based on the $1999 instead of $1899. Because you signed the initial lease, this means you understood & agreed with the clause above so yes, it's legal.
I don’t agree with someoneinqueen’s interpretation. According to your link, the law says:
Rent Guidelines Board increases and other increases allowed by the Rent Stabilization Law or Emergency Tenant Protection Act are to be applied to the preferential rent.
So a landlord cannot put an illegal clause in a lease and expect you to follow it, even if you signed the lease. The law still holds.
You should contest it. If he’s doing it to you, he’s doing it to others.
I agree with macnyc2003. Would definitely contest the renewal. I just renewed my lease this month. I live in a rent stabilized lottery apartment that I got selected for back in 2020. Took a 2 year lease back then. My new rental amounts, dependent on whether I chose a 1 year or 2 year lease, were based on the percentages the rent guidelines board voted on back and June and those percentages were applied to my preferential rent, not my legal rent which is about $500 or so more. The only thing that concerns me is that you signed the lease with that clause in it. I don't know if the clause is illegal or not but it's worth investigating. Try talking to someone at the legal aid society and see what they suggest: https://legalaidnyc.org/get-help/housing-problems/ Good luck!
I agree with what you said IF the tenant was never made aware that after their rent is over & if they wish to renew then the increases will be calculated from $1999. In this case, if you read the initial post, the OP was aware that the real rent price was $1999 but they were under special circumstances to pay only $1899 for the first year & the OP was clearly told in advance by their LL through the initial lease that if the tenant wishes to renew their lease then the increases will be calculated from the real rent price which is $1999.
The OP can always contest that but I'm afraid they will lose because everything was laid out in the initial lease signing, there was no hidden charges nor misinformation in this case & the OP signed the lease as a confirmation that they understood & agreed.
PS. The OP's case will be similar to those who got discounted rent in their initial lease i.e. 1-2 months free if you sign your lease for so-and-so year. After the initial lease is over, the LL will calculate the increases based on the real rent price, not the discounted rent price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by macnyc2003
I don’t agree with someoneinqueen’s interpretation. According to your link, the law says:
Rent Guidelines Board increases and other increases allowed by the Rent Stabilization Law or Emergency Tenant Protection Act are to be applied to the preferential rent.
So a landlord cannot put an illegal clause in a lease and expect you to follow it, even if you signed the lease. The law still holds.
You should contest it. If he’s doing it to you, he’s doing it to others.
Last edited by someoneinqueens; 08-26-2022 at 12:42 PM..
The OP should've never agreed & signed the lease in the first place.
Anyway, this is just my opinion based on the case evidence presented... I would be interested to know the end of the results of this if the OP indeed pursues it legally.
I wish the OP good luck!
Quote:
Originally Posted by macnyc2003
Yes, but preferential rents are now in effect for the life of the tenancy, not for the life of the lease, as they used to be.
The OP was never informed that the $1,899 was a discounted rent, or that they were getting one or two months “free.”
So even if a landlord makes up his own rules, put them into a lease, and the tenant signs it, that does not override the law.
Can you imagine what landlords would put into rent-stabilized leases if that were the case?
Someoneinqueens, what you are saying would be true if the unit were market rate. But owners of RS units have to follow the law.
Last edited by someoneinqueens; 08-26-2022 at 01:07 PM..
Does $5 a month matter? No, not really, but if the landlord is doing this to the OP, chances are he's doing it to others. If it's being done illegally, he should be stopped/schooled.
I don’t agree with someoneinqueen’s interpretation. According to your link, the law says:
Rent Guidelines Board increases and other increases allowed by the Rent Stabilization Law or Emergency Tenant Protection Act are to be applied to the preferential rent.
So a landlord cannot put an illegal clause in a lease and expect you to follow it, even if you signed the lease. The law still holds.
You should contest it. If he’s doing it to you, he’s doing it to others.
Thank you so much, this is exactly my concern. I signed the rider with my lease because I wasn't aware of the regulations on preferential vs. legal rent at the time (and I didn't want to lose the apartment), even though it felt sort of shady. But now that I'm reading that increases should be based on preferential rent, I want to make sure I'm not being taken advantage of. Hoping to resign for a 2 year lease - if this goes through uncontested, my rent will go up ~$200 a month (which is not great in this economy and with my stagnant salary).
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