Guide To Rent Control
How much can my lease be increased each year?
The Ordinance provides that the Rent Stabilization Board each year identifies the allowable portion increase, or Annual General Adjustment (" AGA"), that landlords can raise rents for tenants in managed rentals. Landlords of rent-controlled units, who remain in compliance with the Ordinance might increase leas in between July 1 and June 30 of each program year by the quantity of the AGA (assuming the occupant's current lease level is at a previously accredited Maximum Allowable Rent, hereinafter "MAR") after offering proper 30-day notification to the renter, as required by State law.
The following are the percentage of rent increases permitted, including all charges for regulated housing services, for each program year given that the Ordinance went into result 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 lease boost of 4.2% enabled
- July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022 AGA rent boost of 1.3% enabled
- July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021 AGA lease boost of 2.3% allowed
- July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020 AGA lease increase of 2.8% permitted
- July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019 AGA lease 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 lease increase of 2.4% permitted
- July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016 AGA lease boost of 2.0% permitted
- July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2015 AGA rent boost of 2.0% enabled
- July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014 AGA rent boost of 2.0% enabled
- July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013 AGA lease boost of 2.4% allowed
- July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012 AGA rent increase of 1.4% permitted
- August 8, 2010 - June 30, 2011 AGA of 0% (no boosts were permitted)
If lease was increased by more than the percent pointed out above for any of these program years, occupants might petition for a rent reduction and for a refund for any lease they overpaid, unless the lease boost is to the acceptable lease level or MAR, as allowed under State law,1 and the property manager is otherwise in compliance with the Ordinance.
In computing lease increases, AGAs need to be used to a tenant's allowable lease level or certified MAR (Do not consist of the City's registration fee of $9.75 when computing the lease increase). The Board adopts the AGA in April to be efficient before the program year begins, which runs July 1 through June 30 of that year and a notification sent out by the Board recommending landlords and tenants of controlled rentals of the AGA is sent in mid-May of the exact same year. A proprietor is qualified to increase rents using AGAs just if the proprietor:
1. Registers all units in the exact 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 permitted rent; and
3. Ensures the rental unit complies with the implied service warranty of habitability; and completes all repair work bought by the City.
Rent increases might not surpass 10% in any 12-month period. Fees paid to a landlord for managed housing services such as parking or energies become part of the rent. Any boost in costs for regulated housing services, or any charges for additional services other than for the addition of a pet charge that were not consisted of in a renter's initial rental arrangement, are thought about lease boosts and need to conform to the requirements for raising leas. The addition of a pet charge is ruled out a rent increase. The Board does not confirm a landlord's eligibility for yearly lease boosts. Tenants need to monitor rent increases closely and submit a petition with the Board, if necessitated, to challenge a property owner's eligibility to raise rents or the propriety of any rent increase.
Landlords might raise rents by a lower amount than enabled by the AGA or choose not to raise leas by the AGA in any given year, and in that event, they might "bank" the unused AGA for future usage to raise an occupant's rent.
When can my property owner raise my lease?
A property manager can not increase rent unless a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent has been issued for the existing tenant of a controlled unit after a property manager has actually sent a Registration Statement. Once a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent has been provided, the proprietor can raise that tenant's rent when every 12 months, however not in excess of 10% yearly, as long as the unit continues to be correctly registered, and the property owner remains in substantial compliance with the Ordinance. No rent boosts are allowed for occupants within 12 months of initial tenancy.
What does it mean to "bank" an AGA for future rent increases?
Landlords might "bank" for future use an AGA that is not utilized to raise lease in the program year for which it is authorized. A composed notification of banking need to be provided to the occupant by February 1 in the program year for which an AGA is authorized 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 tenant's tenancy. As such, use of banked AGAs to raise an occupant's lease is limited to the last 3 AGAs that have been banked.
What is a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent?
Beginning in 2011 the Board started providing Certificates of Maximum Allowable Rent for rentals managed under the recently embraced Ordinance. Certificates are only released upon Initial Registration of a rental and upon occupancy by a brand-new tenant; they are not released every year. Based on info sent by property managers, the Rent Stabilization Administrator calculates the MAR in the Certificates issued for rentals that have been correctly signed up with the City. Each Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent just applies to the tenants in a rental agreement for tenancy of a particular unit 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 system. If an occupant 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 occupancy, refunds may reach as far back as August 2010.
How are Certificates of Maximum Allowable Rents (MARs) figured out?
The Rent Stabilization Program Administrator uses formulas for calculating the MAR in Certificates of Maximum Allowable Rent that think about the date the renter moved into the rental unit, the Adjusted Base Year Rent, and the AGAs enabled considering that then. The determined Base Year Rent, which for brand-new occupants is the lease at preliminary tenancy, is changed by subtracting any discounts supplied to the occupant in the first 12 months, and adding the amount of any regulated housing service charges consisted of in the preliminary rental arrangement. This Adjusted Base Year Rent is then multiplied by any accumulated AGAs since 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 issued for my system?
Landlords and occupants can petition for a hearing to challenge the MAR. For instance, either celebration can challenge the accuracy of details reported to the Rent Stabilization Program, which is utilized to calculate the Maximum Allowable Rent. Objections need to be received within thirty days of the issuance of a Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent; this due date can be encompassed 60 days for good cause. If a prompt objection is not filed, the Certificate of Maximum Allowable Rent becomes final unless there is evidence of deliberate misrepresentation or fraud, or unless a tenant and landlord willingly submit a joint petition (a "stipulated petition") looking for a correction.
Can I be charged a City registration cost 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, could pass on to tenants half of the charge for the Rent Stabilization Program. In program years 2011 through 2015, the tenant's share of this fee was $9.75 monthly. Tenants could not be charged more than this quantity or charged this charge retroactively. This cost was not part of the lease or consisted of in the computation of the MAR or rent increases based on AGAs.
Upon the voter-approved amendment of the 2010 Ordinance in November 2016, the optimum allowable rent for tenancies developed on or before November 8, 2016 was increased by nine dollars and seventy-five cents ($9.75) as of November 8, 2016, to reflect the previous regular monthly registration fee pass-through amount. As an outcome, owners are no longer enabled to collect this fee as a different charge.