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Settlement advice

NYC Rent Regulation: Rent Control/Rent Stabilized, DHCR Practice/Procedures

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Settlement advice

Postby Clement » Fri Feb 19, 2021 3:23 pm

Hello,

I used to rent an apartment under stabilized rent in NYC. The landlord had increased a lot the rent due to major improvements but never disclosed the details.
I filed a complain with the DHCR for rent overcharge and now the landlord is offering a settlement.
I am looking for advice on my options and amount I would be entitled to. Would you recommend any laywer? Or is there an accurate list somewhere of specialized firms defending tenants' rights?

Thank you!
Clement
 
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Re: Settlement advice

Postby TenantNet » Fri Feb 19, 2021 3:30 pm

The details are in the application that should have been served on all tenants, also in the DHCR decision sent by DHCR to all RS tenants, and you can FOIL the entire file from DHCR.

Filing a rent overcharge has nothing to do with a MCI that has been approved. Is the offered settlement directly tied to the MCI? Did you appeal the MCI decision, and what stage of the process is that in?

You haven't given us any information on details and the basis for any overcharge claim, so we really can't begin to answer that. There are tenant attorneys that advertise on this site. See the ads on the home page, and on pages of this forum (top right). But you'll have to give them accurate information ... not conflating two separate issues.
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Re: Settlement advice

Postby Clement » Sun Feb 21, 2021 11:08 pm

Sorry, I didn't know about the MCI. I was talking about improvements in the apartment (IAI)
Clement
 
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Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2021 6:38 pm

Re: Settlement advice

Postby TenantNet » Mon Feb 22, 2021 5:26 am

IAIs are different. That allows a LL to increase the rent on a vacancy, or with written permission of the tenant, during the lease. The rules for IAIs are different and changed in 2019 .. made more restrictive. LLs are not required to file (and get approved) a separate application like MCI's, but they must report the rent increase in the yearly registration and provide some details to tenants in the DHCR informational rider that is required to be given to tenants on each lease renewal (or vacancy). You can FOIL details from DHCR, if they have anything, which they usually don't.

IAIs are improvements to your apt and not others. It's usually things like new kitchen appliances or cabinets. But it's not things like painting. If you feel nothing was done, or the amount they are charging is too high for the work they are claiming, you can file an overcharge complaint. LLs are then asked to submit proof of the work and payment. In many cases the LLs create false documentation, and in many cases DHCR just rubber-stamps what it show to them. If tenants really want to push the issue, they can hire an attorney and get experts. But to be honest, getting a lawyer on a IAI is not too common unless you have the money to hire one.
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Information from TenantNet is from experienced non-attorney tenant
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