Management Basics

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You must file an Annual Apartment Registration application with the DHCR for every rent-stabilized apartment you own by July 31, 2013. 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.

The energy used in America’s buildings is responsible for almost 8 percent of global carbon emissions and costs Americans more than $500 billion every year. Despite this enormous impact and expense, much about this energy use remains mysterious. Unlike our general awareness of the mileage-per-gallon performance when we buy or operate a car, most owners and managers don’t know whether their buildings are efficient. And tenants are usually even less aware.

If your building’s boiler breaks down this winter, you should be ready with a game plan to avoid fines, city-imposed repair charges, or rent cuts. You should be prepared to respond quickly and have your boiler repair company’s contact information handy.

The Department of Buildings (DOB) recently announced that the inspection and report deadlines for low- and high-pressure boilers have been extended to Dec. 31. In addition, reports for these inspections are now due no later than Feb. 15, 2013.

Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, as well as the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane in history, surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. According to recent accounts, victims of Hurricane Sandy have been streaming into temporary emergency rooms and relief centers complaining of rashes, asthma, and coughing. Some need tetanus shots after mishandling waterlogged boards and getting poked by rusty nails.

The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) has just announced a cut in this year's air-conditioner rent surcharge for owners who pay for electricity. It set the monthly surcharge at $22.66, down from $29.13last year. This year's decrease reflects a 22.2 percent decrease in the price of electricity for electrical inclusion buildings as calculated by the Rent Guidelines Board's 2012 Price Index of Operating Costs issued in April 2012.

The time is approaching when you’ll need to get your heating system online for the upcoming cold weather. In New York City, heating season officially begins on Oct. 1. By law, owners are also required to provide tenants with heat under the following conditions: Between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., if the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees, the inside temperature is required to be at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit; and, between the hours of 10 p.m.

Although a development project may go as planned, it’s not unusual for problems to arise so that the project has to be redesigned. With every redesign comes an upset tenant that may feel like you’re pushing the envelope by including or doing away with aspects of the center that attracted it in the first place. You might be able to get away with small changes without ruffling any tenant feathers. But how far can you go before prompting a lawsuit?

In our feature, we discussed one type of an illegal sublet: when a tenant rents out his or her apartment using short-term rental Web sites. But what happens when a tenant approaches you about a long-term rental agreement with another individual? In these situations, the tenant wants you to approve a legitimate sublet request.

If you sign a vacancy lease with a tenant between Oct. 1, 2012, and Sept. 30, 2013, the new order issued on June 21 by the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB)—RGBO #44—lets you collect the vacancy increases permitted under the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997 (RRRA).