How much can my lease be increased each year?

The Ordinance provides that the Rent Stabilization Board each year identifies the permissible percentage increase, or Annual General Adjustment (" AGA"), that landlords can raise rents for tenants in controlled rentals. Landlords of rent-controlled systems, who remain in compliance with the Ordinance may increase rents between July 1 and June 30 of each program year by the amount of the AGA (assuming the renter's present rent level is at a formerly licensed Maximum Allowable Rent, hereinafter "MAR") after providing proper 30-day notice to the renter, as needed by State law.

The following are the percentage of rent increases permitted, including all costs for regulated housing services, for each program year since the Ordinance entered into effect in August 8, 2010:

- July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025 AGA lease increase of 1.9% allowed
- July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024 AGA lease increase of 4.2% allowed
- July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023 AGA rent increase of 4.2% allowed
- July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022 AGA lease increase of 1.3% allowed
- July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021 AGA lease increase of 2.3% permitted
- July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020 AGA lease boost of 2.8% enabled
- July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019 AGA rent boost of 2.9% permitted
- July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018 AGA lease boost 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 boost of 2.0% enabled
- July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2015 AGA rent increase of 2.0% allowed
- July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014 AGA rent boost of 2.0% enabled
- July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013 AGA rent increase of 2.4% allowed
- July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012 AGA lease boost of 1.4% permitted
- August 8, 2010 - June 30, 2011 AGA of 0% (no boosts were allowed)

If lease was increased by more than the percent cited above for any of these program years, tenants may petition for a rent reduction and for a refund for any rent they paid too much, unless the lease boost is to the allowable rent level or MAR, as permitted under State law,1 and the landlord is otherwise in compliance with the Ordinance.

In determining lease boosts, AGAs should be used to a renter's acceptable rent level or licensed MAR (Do not consist of the City's registration charge of $9.75 when calculating the lease increase). The Board embraces the AGA in April to be reliable before the program year begins, which runs July 1 through June 30 of that year and a notification sent out by the Board advising proprietors and renters of managed rentals of the AGA is sent in mid-May of the exact same year. A property owner is eligible to increase rents utilizing AGAs just if the landlord:

1. Registers all units in the same residential or commercial property with the Rent Stabilization Program; and
2. Substantially adheres to the Ordinance and any orders or policies released or promoted under the Ordinance, consisting of not charging more than the enabled lease; and
3. Ensures the rental adheres to the suggested service warranty of habitability; and completes all repair work purchased by the City.

Rent increases might not surpass 10% in any 12-month period. Fees paid to a proprietor for managed housing services such as parking or energies are part of the rent. Any boost in fees for regulated housing services, or any charges for additional services except for the addition of a family pet charge that were not included in an occupant's initial rental arrangement, are thought about lease boosts and should comply with the requirements for raising leas. The addition of a family pet charge is ruled out a rent increase. The Board does not validate a property owner's eligibility for yearly lease boosts. Tenants should monitor lease boosts closely and file a petition with the Board, if required, to challenge a proprietor's eligibility to raise rents or the propriety of any lease boost.

Landlords might raise leas by a lesser amount than enabled by the AGA or choose not to raise rents by the AGA in any given year, and in that event, they might "bank" the unused AGA for future use to raise a renter's lease.

When can my property owner raise my rent?

A property owner can not increase rent unless a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent has actually been issued for the present tenant of a controlled system after a proprietor has submitted a Registration Statement. Once a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent has actually been issued, the proprietor can raise that renter's lease as soon as every 12 months, however not in excess of 10% every year, as long as the unit continues to be appropriately registered, and the property manager remains in substantial compliance with the Ordinance. No rent boosts are allowed for tenants within 12 months of preliminary tenancy.

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

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 composed notice of banking must be offered to the occupant by February 1 in the program year for which an AGA is licensed and will not be utilized that lists which, if any, licensed AGAs have actually not been taken. A property manager might not bank more than three AGAs during a renter's occupancy. As such, usage of banked AGAs to raise an occupant's lease 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 started issuing Certificates of Maximum Allowable Rent for rentals regulated under the recently adopted Ordinance. Certificates are just issued upon Initial Registration of a rental and upon tenancy by a brand-new occupant; they are not issued every year. Based upon info sent by property owners, the Rent Stabilization Administrator computes the MAR in the Certificates released for rentals that have been properly registered with the City. Each Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent just applies to the renters in a rental arrangement for occupancy of a specific system address. A renter can not be charged rent, consisting of any charges for regulated housing services, above the MAR for the timeframe defined in the Certificate issued for their system. If a renter is charged rent above the MAR, they might submit a petition (Petition A) to look for a lease decrease and a refund for overcharges. Depending upon 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 utilizes formulas for calculating 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 permitted since then. The figured out Base Year Rent, which for new occupants is the rent at preliminary occupancy, is changed by subtracting any discounts offered to the tenant in the first 12 months, and adding the quantity of any regulated housing service charge consisted of in the initial rental contract. This Adjusted Base Year Rent is then multiplied by any collected AGAs because the Base Year. The full chart of the Administrative Formulas for Calculation of the MAR and other documents can be discovered here.

What if I disagree with the MAR in the Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent provided for my system?

Landlords and occupants can petition for a hearing to object to the MAR. For instance, either celebration can challenge the precision of details reported to the Rent Stabilization Program, which is utilized to compute the Maximum Allowable Rent. Objections need to be received within 1 month of the issuance of a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent; this due date can be reached 60 days for great cause. If a timely objection is not filed, the Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent becomes final unless there is proof of intentional misstatement or fraud, or unless a renter and property owner voluntarily file a joint petition (a "stated petition") looking for a correction.

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

No, owners can not. Under the 2010 Ordinance, before November 2016, owners, with proper advance 30-day notification, might pass on to tenants half of the City's registration cost for the Rent Stabilization Program. In program years 2011 through 2015, the occupant's share of this fee was $9.75 monthly. Tenants might not be charged more than this amount or charged this cost retroactively. This fee was not part of the rent or consisted of in the computation of the MAR or lease increases based upon AGAs.

Upon the voter-approved modification of the 2010 Ordinance in November 2016, the optimum permitted rent for occupancies developed 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 charge pass-through quantity. As a result, owners are no longer enabled to collect this cost as a separate charge.