Rent-Stabilized Lease Renewal Chicanery (apartment, rental, month to)

[Giga]

So I live in a rent-stable apartment with preferential rent knocking down 300 bucks off the "legal" rent per month for the past year.

Come renewal time, I mailed back my signed renewal lease with a check for new security deposit thinking I'd be set for another year.

3 months later, the management company was changed and the new company offered me a new lease without preferential rent. So if I were to sign, I'd pay full legal rent which is $300 more than the normal 4% increase.

So wasn't the old management company supposed to return a signed lease to me after cashing my security deposit check? I now have no new lease signed by the old management company. The new company of course decides to charge more rent.

So I'm at crossroads here. The questions are:

1. Can I get my preferential rent back from the new company? Do I ANY leverage there?
2. The old lease expired 6/30. I sent a new rent check for 7/1. If they cash that does that mean I can live there without a lease on a month to month basis?
3. Can I just give 30 days notice and walk away at this point? What flexibility do I gain as the lease expired already this month?

Thanks for all the help!

[Harlem resident]

Call Met Council on Housing.
Or research it.
I find myself giving the same advice again and again and I do not understand why.

[Giga]

Well the Met Council is a good resource. People actually pick up the phone.

[bluedog2]

Originally Posted by Giga

So I live in a rent-stable apartment with preferential rent knocking down 300 bucks off the "legal" rent per month for the past year.

Come renewal time, I mailed back my signed renewal lease with a check for new security deposit thinking I'd be set for another year.

3 months later, the management company was changed and the new company offered me a new lease without preferential rent. So if I were to sign, I'd pay full legal rent which is $300 more than the normal 4% increase.

So wasn't the old management company supposed to return a signed lease to me after cashing my security deposit check? I now have no new lease signed by the old management company. The new company of course decides to charge more rent.

So I'm at crossroads here. The questions are:

1. Can I get my preferential rent back from the new company? Do I ANY leverage there?
2. The old lease expired 6/30. I sent a new rent check for 7/1. If they cash that does that mean I can live there without a lease on a month to month basis?
3. Can I just give 30 days notice and walk away at this point? What flexibility do I gain as the lease expired already this month?

Thanks for all the help!

You are about the 50th person I've heard of recently discovering the true meaning of "preferential" v. "legal" rent.Nobody paid any attention to this until the last year or so when the market enabled landlords to get huge increases.

You might be able to negotiate a new" preferential " rent that will be higher than the 4% increase would allow but still below the maximumum legal rent,depending on the market in your particular neighborhood.Problem is it will once again be a "preferential " rent and you will always be at risk for another round of nastiness.

[Harlem resident]

Originally Posted by Giga

Well the Met Council is a good resource. People actually pick up the phone.

Of course ! That's why I always recommend them. They actually care.

[Harlem resident]

Originally Posted by bluedog2

You are about the 50th person I've heard of recently discovering the true meaning of "preferential" v. "legal" rent.Nobody paid any attention to this until the last year or so when the market enabled landlords to get huge increases.

You might be able to negotiate a new" preferential " rent that will be higher than the 4% increase would allow but still below the maximumum legal rent,depending on the market in your particular neighborhood.Problem is it will once again be a "preferential " rent and you will always be at risk for another round of nastiness.

But ... if there is already a lease in place, proven through the extra security and signing, it would not matter right now. Perhaps I misread the post.

Tenants can press a lease complaint for failure to return the counter-signed copy within 30 days (?) - cannot recall the exact time, but there is a time frame.

OP - I would obtain a rental history as well. This would move in the direction of settling any difference between "legal" and "preferential " ...