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Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

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

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Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

Postby Easy_Question » Tue Oct 18, 2022 10:04 pm

My lease expired on January 31, 2022.

LL sent a new lease in October 2021 which I have not signed because he put in a rent increase, but after receiving the ERAP in December, and again in April was not allowed to increase for one year.

I later learned that I should have signed and returned the lease, but the LL would still not collect new rent until December of 2022.

A month ago LL sent another lease stating that my lease expires on December 31, but now it has a different rent increase amount.

Being that my last lease expired on January 31 can the LL do this?
Also I need to apply for DRIE asap.

Do I apply for DRIE with my last expired lease?

Do I send LL back the initial Lease Renewal he gave me or the new one that lists an incorrect expiration date?

Do I need a current lease to apply for DRIE?

Does a lease need to be signed by both Myself and LL in order to apply for DRIE?

How long does it take for my DRIE application to be approved?

If my application is approved will my rent revert back to what it was on the day I filed my application?

Thank you
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Re: Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

Postby TenantNet » Wed Oct 19, 2022 2:32 am

So for those that are RS, when a lease expires the LL must send you a renewal between 90-120 days prior to the expiration. It must be on an official and current DHCR form RTP-8. https://hcr.ny.gov/system/files/documen ... llable.pdf

If not, it's as if no renewal was offered. It must contain the proper RGB increase at the time. It cannot be backdated, even if late. Read carefully the instructions on the back of the RTP-8 form.

If there's no offer, then the rent should not go up and you should continue to pay the old rent.

If the offer is made late, then it can't be retroactive and when it is finally offered, the percentage increase is up to the tenant, either the current RGB increase or the increase when it should have been offered. Again, read the instructions.

You say there was one offered in Oct 2021 but you didn't sign it because there was a rent increase? Was the increase legal? AFAIK, ERAP will save you from going to court, but not a rent increase at the legal rate. You seem to think that ERAP will stop an otherwise legal rent increase. We don't think so. Where have you heard differently?

So we don't have enough information here. (plus there are ongoing court battles as to how ERAP is to be handled).

In our view, the ERAP amount should be apportioned (across any amounts due) based on what was the legal rent at the time, not what the LL might say. And the office running ERAP (OTDA) has no clue about the months to which it should be applied even if their order states certain months. In my case, they said that the ERAP award covered certain months even though I had paid rent for those months and could prove it. They just don't know.

The new lease offer would likely reflect the new RDG increases for the 22/23 year. Have you been paying the old 2021 rent, or the 2022 rent? In that they apparently sent you an offer in Oct 2021, it might be hard to claim on a new renewal that the 21/22 RGB rates should apply.

Things get complicated because of SCRIE/DRIE. They generally want a current lease, but that's not how things are in the real world. We feel that if you can show your RS status with other documents (i.e., registrations), that should be sufficient. But they don't always agree. They might allow a one-year extension w/out a lease - and they even have a form for that - but I don't know if they will allow that for the initial DRIE application. You should speak with the SCRIE/DRIE ombudspersons.

We can't say what they will do, but like any bureaucracy, it might take a month or two. I would get a clearer picture on what your legal rent should be, and if the increase is retroactive and if the amount should use the 21/22 or 22/23 rates.
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Re: Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

Postby Easy_Question » Wed Oct 19, 2022 9:01 pm

TenantNet wrote:
You say there was one offered in Oct 2021 but you didn't sign it because there was a rent increase? Was the increase legal? AFAIK, ERAP will save you from going to court, but not a rent increase at the legal rate. You seem to think that ERAP will stop an otherwise legal rent increase. We don't think so. Where have you heard differently?.


1) Can owners who receive ERAP assistance for a rent stabilized apartment increase the rent?

From one of your answers on this Forum:

"For rent stabilized units receiving ERAP, lawful rent increases are allowed to be preserved in the lease, but landlords must follow ERAP guidelines and agree to not increase the monthly rental amount above the monthly amount due at the time of application for ERAP assistance for months for which the rental assistance is received and for one year from receipt of the ERAP payment. Owners are advised by DHCR to send a letter to the tenant at the time ERAP payments begin and attach an explanatory rider at the time of the lease renewal. The rider should clarify that a lower rent is being charged pursuant to an ERAP directive and that the higher legal rent cannot be collected during the period of the ERAP rent freeze. The higher legal rent that was in the lease can be collected only when the ERAP rent freeze expires. It is unlawful for an owner to demand arrears from the tenant, in a lump sum or in any other manner, for the difference between the higher legal rent and the lower rent for the period that the ERAP rent freeze was in effect."

This means I was supposed to sign and return the initial lease renewal offered last October.
The reason I didn't was I thought they were NOT ALLOWED to increase the rent for one year. I was not aware that they can list the rent increase in the lease as they did, and were just not allowed to collect it.

Now, as I said in my initial post, they sent me a new lease renewal, and this particular lease states that my lease expires on December 31, 2022 and has the correct RGB increase in place for this time.

HOWEVER, my actual lease expired on January 31, 2022. And if I had signed and returned the lease offered me last October, which had the correct rent increase, they would have continued to collect the old rent until December of this year (12 months of no rent increase as per ERAP rules above), and would only collect the rent increase listed on the lease renewal for the month of January 2023.
They did continue to bill me the old lease amount.

Now, is it better for me to sign the initial Lease Renewal they sent me last October and return to them

OR sign the new lease renewal they sent me last month that lists my expiration date as December 31, 2022, which is incorrect as my lease actually expired on January 31, 2022?

I think because I didn't sign and return the lease renewal offered last October, and my lease expired on January 31, 2022, they are now arbitrarily listing my lease expiration date as December 31, even though if I would have signed the renewal lease, it would have expired on January 31, 2023.
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Re: Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

Postby TenantNet » Thu Oct 20, 2022 5:36 am

Before I dig into your most recent post, you offer a lengthy quote. Please provide a link to that - I can't search 50,000 posts for that. Is that something I just wrote, or was I quoting some other document?

I will say that ERAP is confusing to everyone, including lawyers and judges. There is a lot of litigation over this, which makes it even more confusing.
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Re: Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

Postby Easy_Question » Thu Oct 20, 2022 6:52 pm

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Re: Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

Postby TenantNet » Thu Oct 20, 2022 7:40 pm

OK, for those who can't use a mouse, here's the statement from the NYS Attorney General. To Easy_Question, you claimed I posted this. Possible, but I don't recall. Do you have a link to that? I'd like to see what I wrote in context.

Attorney General James Reminds Landlords to Not Raise Rents If They Accept Pandemic Rental Assistance


Landlords Who Receive Payments from the Emergency Rental
Assistance Program Cannot Raise Rents for 12 Months


NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today issued an advisory to landlords reminding them that they cannot raise rents if they accepted or plan to accept funding from the state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), which was recently expanded in the state’s budget. Landlords who accept payments from the program are prohibited from raising rents for a year after they receive the funds. Attorney General James is ready to take action to protect tenants if landlords fail to abide by ERAP’s rules.

“The rules are clear: Landlords who accept ERAP payments cannot raise rents for 12 months,” said Attorney General James. “This program was created to support struggling tenants and keep New Yorkers in their homes during the pandemic. Landlords who accepted payments from the state yet are still raising rents are double dipping and breaking the law. I urge any tenant who accepted ERAP payments and received a new lease with rent increases from their landlord to contact my office.”

ERAP is a rent relief program that provides support to low- and moderate-income tenants across the state who could not pay rent during the pandemic. Since the state started accepting applications in June 2021, it has provided hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers with financial support to pay off back rent. It pays up to 12 months of rental arrears accrued on or after March 13, 2020 as well as up to three months of additional rental assistance going forward. In addition, the program pays up to 12 months of electric or gas utility arrears that accrued on or after March 13, 2020. The program was recently infused with an additional $800 million.

Landlords who accept ERAP payments agreed:

  • Not to increase the monthly rental amount for one year from receipt of the ERAP payment;
  • To waive any late fees due on any rental arrears covered by the ERAP payment; and
  • Not to evict ERAP recipients when their lease expires. This does not apply if the apartment is in a building of four or fewer units and the property owner or owner’s immediate family members intend to immediately occupy the unit for use as a primary residence.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has received reports from tenants that landlords who accepted ERAP payments are sending them renewal leases with rent increases amid the 12-month grace period. While these leases may be generated automatically by management, landlords are cautioned not to seek rent increases in renewal or new leases that commence during the 12-month period.

“Now more than ever, it is critical for tenants across New York to empower themselves and know their rights under ERAP, and for landlords to adhere to the law,” said Judith Goldiner, attorney-in-charge of Civil Law Reform Unit, The Legal Aid Society. “We applaud Attorney General James for putting property owners on notice and reinforcing that there will be serious consequences for unscrupulous landlords.”

“The Emergency Rental Assistance program has been an effective tool in ensuring tenants can remain housed during a global health crisis,” said Meghan Zickl, legal tenant advocate, PUSH Buffalo. “Continuing to fund ERAP is a decision we are relieved the New York state legislature made a priority in the most recent state budget. However, we remain concerned about landlords who will take advantage of this mutually beneficial program and seek to undermine the tenant protections in it by raising the rent during the first year, apply excessive late fees, or even trying to move their tenants out, all while accepting ERAP. We have seen this happen in the prior round of ERAP funding, and we must remain aware of those patterns and address them if our goal is to stabilize our communities.”

“The state law that implemented ERAP took measures to promote housing stability,” said Jill Bradshaw-Soto, Esq, chief program officer, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley. “Our clients face numerous obstacles to maintaining safe and sustainable housing and these challenges have increased during the pandemic. As the majority of tenants in housing court are unrepresented, it is critical that both tenants and landlords are informed and understand the ERAP program and it’s protections.”

“During the COVID19 pandemic hundreds of families in North Brooklyn struggled with staying safe and healthy but lost income had difficulty meeting housing costs,” said Frank Lang, housing director, St. Nicks Alliance. “In 2021 St. Nicks Alliance assisted over 200 households apply to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) so these families don’t become homeless. We remind landlords that received ERAP funds to comply with the program regulations. To tenants that received ERAP assistance we encourage them to seek Housing Counseling assistance to ensure that their housing rights are protected.”

Attorney General James offers the following tips and guidance to tenants who have received funding from ERAP:

  • Return leases that have a rent increase. Leases that include an increase within 12 months of your landlord receiving ERAP payments should be returned to your landlord with a note explaining that the landlord received ERAP payments and cannot increase the rent. Tenants should follow up with management to explain why the lease is improper and ask for a new lease to be issued.
  • Monitor your rent statements. Check your rent statements to make sure that your rent hasn’t been increased or that your landlord is charging you late fees for any of the months covered by the ERAP payment.
  • Do not ignore court papers. Even if your landlord received an ERAP payment or you submitted an ERAP application, do not ignore court papers.
  • Speak with an attorney. If your landlord is taking you to court or you have questions about your lease, you should speak with an attorney. You can visit OAG’s tenant help website to find free legal representation.
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Re: Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

Postby Easy_Question » Thu Oct 20, 2022 11:58 pm

Exactly. And it specifically states no rent increases are allowed for one year after ERAP funds are received.

Which is why I did not sign and return the initial Lease Renewal offered me last October, which contained the lawfully allowed RGB increase.

Can someone now please answer my questions?
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Re: Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

Postby TenantNet » Fri Oct 21, 2022 2:02 am

You said this had been previously posted here. Can you give us the link to that post?
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Re: Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

Postby Easy_Question » Sat Oct 22, 2022 9:03 pm

Yes, but does it matter. As you can see from the above NO RENT INCREASES ARE ALLOWED for one year after ERAP funds have been accepted.

Can you answer my questions please
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Re: Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

Postby TenantNet » Sat Oct 22, 2022 9:16 pm

Not until you answer my question. This is the third - and last time - that I'll ask.

1) Can owners who receive ERAP assistance for a rent stabilized apartment increase the rent?

From one of your answers on this Forum:

"For rent stabilized units receiving ERAP, lawful rent increases are allowed to be preserved in the lease ...
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Re: Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

Postby Easy_Question » Sun Oct 23, 2022 12:05 am

Yes, I said this in my opening post. However I didn't realize it until much later.
If you read my posts everything will be clear. Including your giving me a runaround.
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Re: Lease Renewal and DRIE Application

Postby TenantNet » Sun Oct 23, 2022 3:59 am

Easy_Question, we're not your enemy here. And we're not looking for a gotcha. But we need to understand which of this forum's 50,000 posts we said what you quoted.

ERAP is brand new, complicated and many landlords are tying to undermine it in court filings, so what one agency or one court said might be contradicted by another.

We are VERY stretched on time and resources. You just said we're giving you a run-around. But we asked a question and three times now, you haven't answered. So until that occurs, we're going to lock this thread. Sorry.
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