New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal Office of Rent Administration Gertz Plaza, 92-31 Union Hall St. Jamaica, New York 11433 Public Information: (718)739-6400 POLICY STATEMENT (90-1) EFFECT OF RENT REDUCTION ORDERS ON MAXIMUM BASE RENT (MBR) INCREASES This policy statement is being issued to clarify the effect of a rent reduction order for failure to maintain services on MBR increases. A rent reduction order may be issued after an application has been filed, but before an MBR increase is granted. In such cases, tenants and owners have faced conflicting instructions since the rent reduction order disallows all future increases until service is restored, but the MBR calculation chart allows for service reductions to be factored into the MBR increase. Under the MBR system, owners must certify that they are maintaining all essential services. These are defined as heat during the part of the year when required by law, hot water, cold water, superintendent services, maintenance of front or entrance door security (including, but not limited to, lock and buzzer), garbage collection, elevator service, gas, electricity and other utility services to both public and required private areas and "such other services when failure to provide and/or maintain such would constitute a danger to the life or safety of, or would be detrimental to the health of the tenant or tenants. In addition, owners must certify that they "have and will continue to maintain essential services." Therefore, a rent reduction order for failure to maintain an essential service, as defined above, will bar the collectibility of any subsequent increase in the Maximum Collectable Rent (MCR) after the effective date of the rent reduction order, until a rent restoration order has been issued. However, if the rent reduction has been granted for a failure to provide a service which is not listed above and cannot be considered detrimental to the health of the tenant(s), then the MCR increase, into which the rent reduction has been calculated, will be collectible. DHCR's orders reducing the Maximum Legal Regulated Rent ( forms RO-30 and RO-31) currently do not distinguish between a failure to provide an essential service or a non-essential service. In the future, orders will be issued based on the above listed definition, to eliminate the discrepancies between them and MBR orders. Rent decrease orders for a failure to maintain services, currently in effect for rent controlled apartments, which do not distinguish between a failure to provide an essential or a nonessential service, bar the collectibility of any subsequent MCR increase, until an order has been issued restoring the rent. February 8, 1990 Elliot G. Sander Deputy Commissioner ------------------------------------------------------------ DHCR Policy Statements are **promulgated** (i.e., officially issued) by the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) and represent **official** policy of the agency. The agency is generally obligated to follow the policy contained in these and other documents or provide a rational for deviation; failure to follow the law, policy or practice may form the basis for an appeal. Electronic versions of the documents on TenantNet are for informational purposes only and there is no guarantee they will be accepted by any court (or even DHCR) as true copies of DHCR policy. The reader is advised to obtain true copies of these documents from DHCR. Also see DHCR Advisory Opinions, DHCR Operational Bulletins, the Rent Stabilization Code, the Rent Stabilization Law and various Rent Control Statutes. Every attempt has been made to conform to the original Policy Statements as issued by DHCR; TenantNet makes no representation the enclosed material is current or will be applied as written. The reader is advised that DHCR often fails to properly apply, interpret or enforce housing laws. Since housing laws are complex and often contradictory, it is recommended the reader obtain competent legal advice from a tenant attorney or counseling from a tenant association or community group. (rev. 3/13/96) DHCR documents are public documents; the electronic version of such documents have been developed by TenantNet and any added value, enhancements and/or proprietary features are copyright 1994, 1995 and 1996 by TenantNet. These documents may be freely distributed provided they remain intact as herein presented, including this and the top informational banner referencing TenantNet as the original provider. ------------------------------------------------------------ For more information or assistance. call the DHCR Rent Infoline at (718) 739-6400, or visit your Borough Rent Office. Queens Central Office 92-31 Union Hall St. 4th Fl. Jamaica, NY 11433 (718) 739-6400 Bronx One Fordham Plaza Bronx, NY 10458 (718) 563-5678 Brooklyn 250 Schermerhorn St. 3rd Floor Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 780-9246 Lower Manhattan 156 William Street 9th Floor NY, NY 10038 (212) 240-6011, 6012 South side of 110th St. and below Upper Manhattan 163 W. 125th St. 5th Floor NY, NY 10027 (212) 961-8930 North side of 110th St. and above Staten Island 350 St. Mark's Place Room 105 Staten island, NY 10301 (718) 816-0277 Nassau County District Rent Office 50 Clinton Street, 6th Floor Hempstead, NY 11550 (516) 481-9494 Westchester County District Rent Office 55 Church Street, 3rd Floor White Plains, NY 10601 (914) 948-4434 Rockland County District Rent Office 94-96 North Main St. Spring Valley, NY 10977 (914) 425-6575 Albany Regional Office 119 Washington Avenue Albany, NY 12210 (518) 432-0596 Buffalo Regional Office Ellicot Square Building 295 Main St., Room 438 Buffalo, NY 14203 (716) 856-1382 ------------------------------------------------------------