Guide To Rent Control

How much can my rent be increased each year?

The Ordinance provides that the Rent Stabilization Board each year figures out the acceptable percentage boost, or Annual General Adjustment (” AGA”), that landlords can raise leas for occupants in managed rental systems. Landlords of rent-controlled units, who remain in compliance with the Ordinance might increase rents in between July 1 and June 30 of each program year by the quantity of the AGA (assuming the renter’s existing lease level is at a previously certified Maximum Allowable Rent, hereinafter “MAR”) after offering appropriate 30-day notification to the renter, as needed by State law.

The following are the percentage of lease increases permitted, of all fees for regulated housing services, for each program year since the Ordinance entered into impact in August 8, 2010:

– July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 AGA rent increase of 1.9% enabled
– July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 AGA rent increase of 4.2% allowed
– 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% permitted
– July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021 AGA rent increase of 2.3% permitted
– 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% allowed
– July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018 AGA rent increase of 2.7% permitted
– July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017 AGA rent increase 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 boost of 2.0% permitted
– July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014 AGA rent increase of 2.0% allowed
– July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013 AGA lease boost of 2.4% allowed
– July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012 AGA lease boost of 1.4% allowed
– August 8, 2010 – June 30, 2011 AGA of 0% (no increases were allowed)

If rent was increased by more than the percent mentioned above for any of these program years, renters may petition for a rent reduction and for a refund for any rent they overpaid, unless the rent increase is to the permissible lease level or MAR, as permitted under State law,1 and the proprietor is otherwise in compliance with the Ordinance.

In determining rent boosts, AGAs should be applied to an occupant’s permissible lease level or licensed MAR (Do not include the City’s registration cost of $9.75 when computing the rent increase). 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 notification sent by the Board recommending property owners and renters of managed rentals of the AGA is sent in mid-May of the same year. A landlord is eligible to increase leas utilizing AGAs just if the proprietor:

1. Registers all units in the very same residential or commercial property with the Rent Stabilization Program; and
2. Substantially abides by the Ordinance and any orders or policies issued or promulgated under the Ordinance, consisting of not charging more than the enabled lease; and
3. Ensures the rental complies with the suggested guarantee of habitability; and completes all repairs bought by the City.

Rent increases may not exceed 10% in any 12-month period. Fees paid to a proprietor for controlled housing services such as parking or utilities belong to the rent. Any boost in charges for regulated housing services, or any charges for additional services other than for the addition of a family pet charge that were not consisted of in an occupant’s preliminary rental agreement, are thought about lease increases and must comply with the requirements for raising leas. The addition of a pet charge is not thought about a lease boost. The Board does not verify a proprietor’s eligibility for yearly rent boosts. Tenants must monitor lease increases carefully and submit a petition with the Board, if warranted, to challenge a property owner’s eligibility to raise leas or the propriety of any rent increase.

Landlords may raise rents by a lower quantity than allowed by the AGA or pick not to raise leas by the AGA in any given year, and in that event, they may “bank” the unused AGA for future usage to raise a renter’s rent.

When can my property owner raise my rent?

A property manager can not increase lease unless a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent has actually been released for the present occupant of a controlled system after a landlord has actually sent a Registration Statement. Once a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent has actually been issued, the landlord can raise that tenant’s lease as soon as every 12 months, but not in excess of 10% each year, as long as the unit continues to be properly signed up, and the landlord remains in considerable compliance with the Ordinance. No lease boosts are allowed for renters within 12 months of preliminary tenancy.

What does it imply to “bank” an AGA for future lease increases?

Landlords may “bank” for future use an AGA that is not utilized to raise rent in the program year for which it is licensed. A composed notice of banking should be provided to the tenant by February 1 in the program year for which an AGA is licensed and will not be utilized that lists which, if any, authorized AGAs have actually not been taken. A property owner may not bank more than three AGAs throughout a tenant’s occupancy. As such, usage of banked AGAs to raise a tenant’s rent is restricted to the last three AGAs that have actually been banked.

What is a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent?

Beginning in 2011 the Board began providing Certificates of Maximum Allowable Rent for rental systems controlled under the recently adopted Ordinance. Certificates are only released upon Initial Registration of a rental system and upon tenancy by a new occupant; they are not provided every year. Based on info submitted by property managers, the Rent Stabilization Administrator computes the MAR in the Certificates issued for rental units that have actually been appropriately registered with the City. Each Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent just uses to the tenants in a rental arrangement for tenancy of a particular system address. An occupant can not be charged rent, including any costs for regulated housing services, above the MAR for the timeframe defined in the Certificate issued for their unit. If a tenant is charged rent above the MAR, they might file a petition (Petition A) to seek a lease decrease and a rebate for overcharges. Depending upon the realities of a specific tenancy, refunds may reach as far back as August 2010.

How are Certificates of Maximum Allowable Rents (MARs) determined?

The Rent Stabilization Program Administrator utilizes solutions for calculating the MAR in Certificates of Maximum Allowable Rent that think about the date the tenant moved into the rental, the Adjusted Base Year Rent, and the AGAs enabled given that then. The identified Base Year Rent, which for brand-new renters is the rent at preliminary occupancy, is changed by subtracting any discount rates offered to the renter in the first 12 months, and including the quantity of any regulated housing service charge included in the initial rental arrangement. This Adjusted Base Year Rent is then increased by any collected AGAs considering 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 system?

Landlords and renters can petition for a hearing to object to the MAR. For instance, either party can challenge the precision of information reported to the Rent Stabilization Program, which is used to calculate the Maximum Allowable Rent. Objections must be received within 1 month of the issuance of a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent; this due date can be reached 60 days for good cause. If a timely objection is not filed, the Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent ends up being final unless there is proof of intentional misstatement or fraud, or unless a tenant and proprietor voluntarily file a joint petition (a “specified petition”) looking for a correction.

Can I be charged a City registration fee of $9.75 in addition to my rent?

No, owners can not. Under the 2010 Ordinance, before November 2016, owners, with correct advance 30-day notification, might pass on to tenants half of the City’s registration charge for the Rent Stabilization Program. In program years 2011 through 2015, the tenant’s share of this charge was $9.75 per month. Tenants could not be charged more than this quantity or charged this cost retroactively. This cost was not part of the rent or included in the calculation of the MAR or rent increases based on AGAs.

Upon the voter-approved modification of the 2010 Ordinance in November 2016, the optimum permitted lease for occupancies established on or before November 8, 2016 was increased by nine dollars and seventy-five cents ($9.75) as of November 8, 2016, to show the previous month-to-month registration fee pass-through quantity. As a result, owners are no longer allowed to collect this cost as a separate charge.