The rent stabilization program is overseen by the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, or the DHCR. The DHCR shares some responsibilities for regulating rent stabilization with the Housing Courts of New York City. The terms of the rent stabilization regime are set forth in the Rent Stabilization Code, 19 NYCRR Parts 2520-2530. Actions brought in Housing Court to enforce the Rent Stabilization Code are based on the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL).

There are a variety of ways for a building to become rent stabilized. Buildings become rent-stabilized if they contain six residential units or more and were built between February 1, 1947 and January 1, 1974. Tenants in buildings built before February 1, 1947 and who moved in after June 30, 1971 are rent stabilized. Also, rental units that come off rent control become rent stabilized. Lastly, buildings owners may elect to enter the rent stabilization program in order to receive real property tax abatements under the J-51 and 421-a programs. However, note that not all units in a rent stabilized building may be in the program.

Rental units leave the rent stabilization program in a few ways. If the building entered the rent stabilization program via J-51 or 421-a, the building generally becomes deregulated at the end of the last lease entered into during the period there was a tax abatement. There is also high-rent and high-income deregulation. A rental unit leaves the rent stabilization program when the legal rent exceeds $2,000 and the existing tenant vacates. Landlords may seek to deregulate an occupied unit whose legal rent exceeds $2,000 if the tenant’s annual household income exceeded $175,000 for the preceding two calendar years.

Landlords cannot raise rents for rent-stabilized units with three exceptions. Every year, the Rent Guidelines Board determines a maximum allowable rent increase rate that landlords may set. Landlords may increase rent with the written consent of the tenant in return for increased services or equipment, or improves the tenant’s apartment. Landlords may also increase rent with the approval of the DHCR in case of hardship or if building-wide major capital improvements are installed.

By filing a complaint with the DHCR, a tenant may seek a refund of any rent paid in excess of the legal rate. If the overcharge in rent was willful, then the tenant can recover triple the amount of the overcharge. However, there is a four year statute of limitations to overcharge requests. This means that overcharges paid more than four years ago generally cannot be recovered.

The DHCR may reduce rents upon application if it determines that the owner has not provided required services such as heat, or did not repair the building or rental units. If a tenant receives a rent reduction, the owner cannot collect any increases until the services are restored, and the rent is restored by the DHCR.

Residents in the rent-stabilized rental unit of a relative may have the right to succession once the named tenant moves out or dies. For instance, a son who lives with his mother in her rent-stabilized apartment for more than two years may get a rent-stabilized lease for the apartment if she passes away or moves out.

Rent stabilization in New York City is a very complicated program for both landlords and tenants. Hopefully, this article provided a helpful overview of this system.

There is a lot of money at stake. Once the rent for a regulated apartment exceeds $2,000 a month, the landlord is free to charge market rents, which can be hundreds or even thousands more than the regulated rent. The fastest way for a landlord to increase the rents is to evict a tenant. A landlord who evicts a tenant living in a rent-stabilized apartment can get a 20% vacancy increase from the next tenant in a two-year lease. He can also get a monthly increase equal to one-fortieth of any renovations performed during the vacancy. For instance, a $4,000 set of hardwood flooring nets an increase of $100 a month until the apartment becomes deregulated. Otherwise, the landlord would have to settle for annual increases of  less than 10% for a two-year renewal lease.

Landlords have to resort to the legal system to evict a tenant, rent-regulated or otherwise. Landlords cannot turn off the utilities to an apartment or change the locks to settle a dispute with a tenant. A tenant who is being harassed by their landlords now have the option of filing a claim in Housing Court under New York City’s Tenant Protection Act (TPA). Landlords who harass tenants can be penalized between $1,000 to $5,000 for each offense. The law bars landlords from using force or making threats against a tenant, repeated or prolonged interruptions of essential services, using frivolous court proceedings to force an eviction, removing the possessions of a lawful tenant, removing doors or damaging locks to a unit, or any other acts designed to disturb a lawful occupant’s residence.

The Tenant Protection Act is balanced to protect landlords from baseless claims by disgruntled tenants. Landlords may be awarded attorneys fees if a TPA claim is frivolous. And if a landlord has three harassment allegations dismissed a ten year period, a tenant will then have to receive approval from a judge to file another harassment claim.

We have seen landlords harass tenants by not accepting rent. They either stop coming around to accept rent, or they refuse to deposit rent checks. The landlord eventually files a nonpayment eviction proceeding. Tenants who find themselves in this situation should send their rent by certified mail to their landlord, keeping the mailing receipt and a photocopy of the rent check. If the landlord keeps refusing the certified mail, keep the returned letter as evidence. Be wary. Sometimes landlords will cash all the checks at once. If the checks bounce, they will sue for nonpayment.

Tenants who believe they are being harassed by landlords should consider filing a claim under the Tenant Protection Act.

You cannot take matters into your own hands by locking the tenant or roommate out. You may not turn off his electricity, water, gas, or heat to badger him into moving out on his own. These self-help remedies are illegal in New York City, where they constitute a Class A misdemeanor under Section 26-521 of the Administrative Code. These remedies also open the door for triple damages for the wrongfully-evicted person. Do not resort to self-help eviction.

If the person is being evicted for not paying his rent, you must serve him with a written demand for monies owed at least three days before initiating eviction proceedings. The written demand must give an exact sum that is due, must disclose that nonpayment may result in eviction, and must be served upon the person by a third party. Anything other than strict adherence to these requirements may result in the court throwing the petition of eviction out, leaving you to start again from square one. Keep in mind, however, that the person being evicted could always choose to pay the deficiency and stay. Furthermore, roommates cannot file such an action against another roommate.

If an eviction is sought for any other reason, it must be brought as a holdover proceeding. If you are evicting someone who never paid you rent, such as a squatter or a licensee, you must serve them with a notice that you intend to evict them at least ten days before you initiate legal proceedings. The wrinkle here is that if you choose to evict someone who is current on their rent on a month-to-month lease, which is the default if you don’t have a lease in place. In this case, you must first terminate the landlord-tenant relationship before petitioning for a summary eviction. Thus, you must serve a thirty day’s notice on the person before the beginning of the next rental term. You cannot collect rent or the court may find that you formed a new landlord-tenant relationship.

After the necessary time period has passed, you may file a proceeding in the proper Civil Court. You must serve a copy of the papers on the person you are trying to evict. You will have a hearing to review your petition for eviction. Bring all your evidence showing that you followed all the steps to the letter, especially the service. You must also bring evidence to back up any claim of nonpayment or breach of the rental conditions if you have any. The court will issue a ruling relatively quickly. If you prevail, the judge will issue an eviction order that a marshal will enforce if the person does not leave on his own accord.

You are, of course, free to contact Jakubowitz & Chuang LLP if you have a landlord-tenant case you need resolved by professionals.