something fishy with rent stabilization?

if they did any renovations, they can apply to have that incorporated into the increase when a new tenant signs a lease. it's still stabilized but at a higher rate.

I used to know people who went through elaborate lawsuits and city records research to get their rents back down to the legal limit . . . but that was for places that jacked up from $300 to $1300 in lightning speed.

The forums on tenant.net would be the place to find out where you get those kind of records, and what the legal increases are, etc.
It's a debatable point as to how worth your time that process is, but you never know until you get better information.

My recollection is that any new lease - so new tenants included - gets the increase, as well as renovation factors.

just noticed these helpful links in another thread...

digbklyn wrote: Two places to check before renting: HPD Online for housing violations on the building
http://nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/pr/violation.shtml#proceed
and ACRIS for the property records:
http://a836-acris.nyc.gov/Scripts/CoverPage.dll/index
With ACRIS, use the Address Finder to find your Parcel Number and then Property Records to look up the financial history of your building. Also use Property Search by your landlord's name to see what else he/she owns and go back to HPD Online to look up violations on any other buildings.

BrookFetish wrote: What is the difference between rent stabilized, rent subsidized and rent controlled? Anything?

Huge difference actually. Rent stabilized is for most apts in larger buildings, 6+ units. You are basically guaranteed a lease renewal and the amount that the rent can go up each year is regulated.

Rent control is only for people who have lived in their apartments from before the early 70's. There is a different set of guidelines for the increases. There's also a difference in how the apt can be passed down to family members.

Subsidized would be any person or building that is under a special program. It could be that an individual is receiving Section 8 assistance to help pay their rent but that is tied to the individual. Some buildings took funds from the gov't for renovations and agreed to keep the entire building in the section 8 program so then it is tied to the building. There are many other programs that exist where owners received money or low interest loans to rehab their properties and as a result must offer rental rates below what the market would charge.

The most common form of this these days is giving a developer tax breaks or the right to build more if they set aside a percentage of units for lower income people. So in effect, the city is subsidizing these units by giving the owner something else and the owner agreeing to not charge more than a certain amount of rent.

For subsidized units you will need to first qualify from an income perspective and then be selected, it's usually a lottery system.

Hope this helps.

Subject: Re: hm

brooklynleather wrote: called the city, they said my rent 3 years ago was actually 992 and thus the increase was legal.

also it is chock full of "improvements" ie a dishwasher and new kitchen coujnter tops

Sounds like your LL could have charged you a bit more than you've been paying. If so you have a preferential rent which means the legal rent is higher than what you are paying. If this is documented on your lease the LL actually has the right to increase your rent up to the legal rent on lease renewal.

brooklynleather wrote: Yikes.

I just can't fathom 1,150 (rent increase) for 275 square foot "1 bedroom" (studioish walkthrough).

I am going to miss you prospect heights!

if it's actually in PH and not CH --- this is low. (sorry).

a building a few doors down from mine has the same set-up, basically a 2 room studio maybe 300 square feet for $1375 - i don't think it's an eat-in kitchen (or barely so). also::: just off washington in CH, my friend lives in a building of 2-room studios and although they are floor-through 2-room studios (still about 300 sqaure feet), 2 apt.'s are between $1300-1400 and one in the building just rented for *** $1700 ***. people from manhattan think this is cheap and for the rest of us who don't work on wall street (or $whatever$), it totally sucks.