Management Basics

RSS

As part of a superintendent’s compensation package, an owner may provide a rent-free apartment to live in. According to state law, the owner can apply this apartment allowance toward the superintendent’s minimum wage requirement to an extent.

The city’s Department of Finance (DOF) recently finalized the real estate tax rates for tax year 2016-17, which began July 1, 2016, and will end June 30, 2017. The rate for Class 2 residential properties (properties with more than three units) is up slightly, while the rate for Class 4 nonresidential properties (commercial) is down slightly from last year.

The following is a comparison of the annualized tax rates for tax years 2015-16 and 2016-17:

The NYC Retrofit Accelerator is a free program that was introduced last year as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s goal to create more energy-efficient buildings and reduce greenhouse gas levels. The city is launching a Better Steam campaign to encourage owners to use city resources to upgrade their steam heating systems.

The program is reaching out to owners to perform smaller, affordable tweaks on heating systems that can help reduce one of the single largest opportunities to reduce NYC’s building emissions overall—steam heat.

The DHCR recently updated Policy Statement 2014-1, which details the filing requirements upon the vacancy of rent-controlled apartments. The automatic rent stabilization coverage has not been changed. If your building has six or more units, a decontrolled apartment automatically falls under rent stabilization when the new tenant signs a lease. The DHCR will continue to regulate the apartment’s rent and the services you must provide.

The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) recently announced a cut in this year’s air-conditioner rent surcharge for owners who pay for electricity. It set the monthly surcharge at $26.65, down from $28.94 last year. This year’s decrease reflects the decrease in the price of electricity for electrical inclusion buildings as calculated by the Rent Guidelines Board’s 2015 Price Index of Operating Costs issued in April 2016.

During the previous “heat season,” the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) fielded 200,904 heat complaints. The current heat season begins on Oct. 1 and continues through May 31, 2017. During this time period, residential building owners with tenants are required by law to maintain certain indoor temperatures when the outdoor temperature falls below a certain point.

If you sign a vacancy lease with a tenant between Oct. 1, 2016, and Sept. 30, 2017, the new order issued on June 27 by the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB)—RGBO #48—lets you collect the vacancy increases permitted under the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997 (RRRA).

On June 27, the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) voted for a 0 percent increase on one-year leases, and a 2 percent increase on two-year leases. The nine-member board voted 7-0, with two abstentions from the members representing the interests of landlords, to approve a 0 percent increase on one-year leases, and a 2 percent increase on two-year leases. This is the same decision as last year.

From time to time, you may need to ask the DHCR for certain information or documents. For example, you may be defending against a reduced services complaint and want to see the DHCR inspection report, or you may want a printout of all cases currently pending at the DHCR for a building you’ve just bought. Or you may want to obtain copies of all prior MCI orders that relate to your building to check the age of equipment being replaced. If so, you can get this information or documentation by filing a records access request with the DHCR.

You must file an Annual Apartment Registration application with the DHCR for every rent-stabilized apartment you own by July 31, 2016, using the DHCR’s online Owner Rent Regulation Application system. As in past years, the penalty for not filing is stiff: You can’t collect a rent increase—or even apply for one—until you file.