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Hi everyone, I realize this forum must get this kind of post frequently, but I couldn't think of a better group of people to ask...
My boyfriend and I were really fortunate to find a rent stabilized apt and signed a 1-year lease at 1750/month. We knew there was a clause in it that said that the rider would expire in a few years, and rent would increase. However, today, we received a letter from the landlords for a renewal, and they said that we can sign for a 1 or 2 year lease, but after that, the rider would expire, and that the rent would be the market rate which is 2400. I didn't realize that such a huge increase was possible. I thought with rent stabilized apartments, they would increase it a bit every year, not such a huge jump like that.
I'm unsure at this point if we should be hiring a lawyer, or if they really can do that. Any advice would be great.
Oops, meant to post in New York City forum. If a mod could pick up this thread and drop it off there, that would be great. Not sure if it matters, but the apartment is in the Bronx.
I believe that when the amount of the rent reaches a certain point (a max. amount by law) it loses its rent stabilized category and goes in a free market rental situation.
Are you sure the apartment is fully stabilized ? There are thousands of apartments around the city where the maximum allowable rent is beyond the stabilization level but they continue to be rented at "stabilized" rents because the market in the neighborhood the apartment is in will not allow the landlord to raise the rent above 2,000.In such cases,the landlord can charge anything he can get away with because technically the apartment is no longer stabilized.
Or even if the apartment is still legally stabilized, maybe after 2 more years the allowable rent will go over 2,000 and the unit will then be destabilized ?
Are you sure you live in The Bronx ? There are very few neighborhoods in The Bronx where the rent could be 2,400/mo unless it is a really,really big apartment or in Riverdale.But even in Riverdale,2,400/mo is a lot for an apartment.If you are in the Bronx and your rent does go up to 2,400/mo I'd look for another place.There are buildings in Morris Park/Pelham parkway where you could find a 2br,2 bath apt with new baths,new kitchen,gym,pool and terrace for under 2,000/mo.
You can ask the rent guidelines board for the rent history of your apartment and you will be able to determine if what the landlord is doing is legal before paying for a lawyer.It should be pretty clear.If either of the above scenarios applies to your apartment you may be out of luck.
Lol I'm pretty sure I'm in the Bronx, but yes, we're in Riverdale. And it is so not worth 2400. We looked at other apartments before deciding on this one, and there were plenty of beautiful updated ones for around 2000. This one that we're in, there are roaches, noisy neighbors, a kitchen from the 70's, and something weird about the way the water comes out. It wasn't an updated apt, just rather large compared to the others out there. We might renew at the 1750 price for 1-2 more years, but we plan to move again if the place does go up to 2400.
It just sucks because we're out the brokers fee and would hate to pay another one to stay in the area for just another year (my boyfriend is an intern at the hospital in the Bronx, and was only planning on being in the area for 4 years anyway). I think the situation might be what the first poster said, because we know the tenants previous to us were long-time tenants, in excess of 30 years or so. Perhaps it did just run out of its maximum allowable rent. I will contact the NYC Rent board though. Thank you so much for all your advice!
Definitely get the rent history on your apartment to make sure you are not being overcharged on your current rent (I am not even talking about the increase.) Something seems very fishy here, if the previous tenants were there for 30 years and the place is not updated. All you have to do is request the rent history on your apartment from DHCR. You can look here for guidelines on how to do it (there may be a better site; this is just what came up when I googled). NYC Rent Guidelines Board
Lol I'm pretty sure I'm in the Bronx, but yes, we're in Riverdale. !
Your location (in upper right corner of your posts) is showing Morningside Heights. So the combination of a Manhattan location and a Manhattan rent may have led some posters to question that you are actually in the Bronx!
Oh sorry! I have an apt in MH to commute to school more easily at 8 am during the weekdays, but I stay with my boyfriend over the 4-day weekends. I should have been more clear.
get the rent history. the thing is there's no penalty for landlords illegally raising the rent in between tenants more than the allowable amount. so a landlord has absolutely nothing to lose by illegally raising the rent when a tenant moves out.
so your apartment may have rented for 400/month before you. if he wanted to raise it to 1750, he's required to make improvements. i think he has to tell the city he did. but, nobody at the city comes to the apartment and checks this though and there's no penalty for landlords lying.
the only possible penalty is that he'd have to pay you back the extra rent if you take him to court or go through the procedures and he loses. there's no penalty on top of that though or dis-incentive for landlords not to lie.
i mean, if he didn't overcharge you, he definitely wouldn't have that extra money in his pocket. so it's pretty good risk to take for the landlord. it's kind of ridiculous. i don't know too many businesses where you can break the law and scam people and the ONLY penalty is a tiny chance you might have to pay them back.
however, your name may go into the big huge housing court database if you start legal proceedings with a landlord. so think carefully, before you start something.
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