How much can my lease be increased each year?
The Ordinance supplies that the Rent Stabilization Board each year identifies the acceptable portion boost, or Annual General Adjustment (" AGA"), that landlords can raise leas for tenants in controlled rental systems. Landlords of rent-controlled systems, who are in compliance with the Ordinance may increase leas between July 1 and June 30 of each program year by the amount of the AGA (assuming the tenant's existing rent level is at a previously certified Maximum Allowable Rent, hereinafter "MAR") after providing proper 30-day notification to the occupant, as needed by State law.
The following are the portion of lease increases permitted, including all fees for regulated housing services, for each program year given that the Ordinance went into effect in August 8, 2010:
- July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025 AGA rent boost of 1.9% enabled
- July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024 AGA rent boost of 4.2% permitted
- July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023 AGA rent boost of 4.2% permitted
- July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022 AGA lease increase of 1.3% enabled
- July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021 AGA lease boost of 2.3% enabled
- July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020 AGA lease boost of 2.8% permitted
- July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019 AGA rent boost of 2.9% enabled
- July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018 AGA lease increase of 2.7% permitted
- July 1, 2016 - June 30, 2017 AGA rent boost of 2.4% enabled
- July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016 AGA rent increase of 2.0% allowed
- July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2015 AGA lease increase of 2.0% allowed
- July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014 AGA rent increase of 2.0% permitted
- July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013 AGA lease increase of 2.4% enabled
- July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012 AGA rent boost of 1.4% permitted
- August 8, 2010 - June 30, 2011 AGA of 0% (no increases were enabled)
If rent was increased by more than the percent cited above for any of these program years, occupants might petition for a lease decrease and for a refund for any rent they paid too much, unless the lease boost is to the acceptable rent level or MAR, as allowed under State law,1 and the proprietor is otherwise in compliance with the Ordinance.
In computing lease boosts, AGAs must be used to a tenant's allowable lease level or accredited MAR (Do not include the City's registration fee of $9.75 when computing the rent boost). The Board embraces the AGA in April to be effective before the program year starts, which runs July 1 through June 30 of that year and a notice sent by the Board encouraging proprietors and renters of controlled rentals of the AGA is sent out in mid-May of the exact same year. A landlord is qualified to increase rents utilizing AGAs just if the property manager:
1. Registers all systems in the same residential or commercial property with the Rent Stabilization Program; and
2. Substantially abides by the Ordinance and any orders or guidelines released or promulgated under the Ordinance, consisting of not charging more than the enabled lease; and
3. Ensures the rental system abides by the implied warranty of habitability; and finishes all repair work purchased by the City.
Rent increases might not surpass 10% in any 12-month duration. Fees paid to a property manager for controlled housing services such as parking or utilities belong to the lease. Any boost in charges for regulated housing services, or any charges for additional services other than for the addition of a pet charge that were not included in a renter's initial rental arrangement, are considered rent increases and must adhere to the requirements for raising rents. The addition of a family pet charge is ruled out a rent increase. The Board does not confirm a landlord's eligibility for annual rent boosts. Tenants ought to keep an eye on rent increases carefully and submit a petition with the Board, if required, to challenge a landlord's eligibility to raise rents or the propriety of any lease boost.
Landlords might raise rents by a lower quantity than enabled by the AGA or choose not to raise rents by the AGA in any given year, and in that occasion, they might "bank" the unused AGA for future use to raise a renter's lease.
When can my landlord raise my rent?
A proprietor can not increase rent unless a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent has been provided for the present renter of a regulated system after a landlord has sent a Registration Statement. Once a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent has been provided, the landlord can raise that occupant's rent when every 12 months, but not in excess of 10% every year, as long as the unit continues to be effectively registered, and the property manager is in considerable compliance with the Ordinance. No rent increases are allowed for renters within 12 months of initial tenancy.
What does it mean to "bank" an AGA for future rent boosts?
Landlords may "bank" for future usage an AGA that is not utilized to raise rent in the program year for which it is licensed. A written notice of banking should be provided to the tenant by February 1 in the program year for which an AGA is authorized and will not be used that lists which, if any, licensed AGAs have not been taken. A property owner might not bank more than 3 AGAs during an occupant's occupancy. As such, usage of banked AGAs to raise an occupant's rent is restricted to the last 3 AGAs that have been banked.
What is a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent?
Beginning in 2011 the Board began releasing Certificates of Maximum Allowable Rent for rental systems regulated under the freshly embraced Ordinance. Certificates are just issued upon Initial Registration of a rental and upon tenancy by a brand-new tenant; they are not released every year. Based upon information sent by landlords, the Rent Stabilization Administrator determines the MAR in the Certificates issued for rentals that have been properly signed up with the City. Each Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent only uses to the tenants in a rental agreement for occupancy of a specific unit address. A tenant can not be charged lease, consisting of any costs for regulated housing services, above the MAR for the timeframe specified in the Certificate provided for their unit. If a tenant is charged lease above the MAR, they might file a petition (Petition A) to look for a lease decrease and a rebate for overcharges. Depending on the truths of a particular tenancy, refunds might reach as far back as August 2010.
How are Certificates of Maximum Allowable Rents (MARs) figured out?
The Rent Stabilization Program Administrator uses solutions for computing the MAR in Certificates of Maximum Allowable Rent that consider the date the tenant moved into the rental, the Adjusted Base Year Rent, and the AGAs enabled considering that then. The determined Base Year Rent, which for brand-new tenants is the rent at initial tenancy, is adjusted by deducting any discount rates offered to the occupant in the first 12 months, and adding the amount of any regulated housing service charge consisted of in the preliminary rental agreement. This Adjusted Base Year Rent is then multiplied by any accumulated AGAs given that the Base Year. The complete chart of the Administrative Formulas for Calculation of the MAR and other documents can be found here.
What if I disagree with the MAR in the Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent provided for my unit?
Landlords and occupants can petition for a hearing to challenge the MAR. For instance, either celebration can challenge the accuracy of info reported to the Rent Stabilization Program, which is used to calculate the Maximum Allowable Rent. Objections need to be gotten within thirty days of the issuance of a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent; this due date can be extended to 60 days for good cause. If a prompt objection is not filed, the Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent ends up being final unless there is evidence of deliberate misrepresentation or scams, or unless an occupant and property owner willingly file a joint petition (a "stated petition") seeking a correction.
Can I be charged a City registration charge of $9.75 in addition to my rent?
No, owners can not. Under the 2010 Ordinance, before November 2016, owners, with appropriate advance 30-day notification, might pass on to occupants half of the City's registration fee for the Rent Stabilization Program. In program years 2011 through 2015, the occupant's share of this cost was $9.75 each month. Tenants might not be charged more than this amount or charged this fee retroactively. This cost was not part of the lease or included in the estimation of the MAR or rent boosts based upon AGAs.
Upon the voter-approved amendment of the 2010 Ordinance in November 2016, the optimum permitted lease for tenancies established on or before November 8, 2016 was increased by nine dollars and seventy-five cents ($9.75) since November 8, 2016, to show the previous monthly registration cost pass-through amount. As a result, owners are no longer permitted to gather this fee as a separate charge.
