Q: I live in a rent-stabilized apartment in Brooklyn. At the end of August I received a new rental agreement from my landlord with a slight rent increase. My lease was up in April, but she neglected to get me the new one until months later. I signed the new rental agreement and dated it September. I just received a message from my landlord informing me that my rent increase started in April and I owe arrears for the months since then. Is that right? Since I only received the notice at the end of August, do I owe the difference for the previous months?
A: No, a landlord cannot grant a rent-stabilized tenant a late lease extension and then demand additional payment. Because you didn't have a signed contract when your lease expired, you never agreed to pay the increased amount.
“There’s no way you have to pay the difference,” said Steven Ben Gordon, a Queens attorney who represents tenants.
New York state law requires owners of rent-stabilized apartments to offer a written lease extension between 150 and 90 days before a lease expires. Tenants have 60 days to sign and return the new lease and can choose between a one-year or two-year term. If the tenant does not return the extension to the landlord within 60 days, the owner may refuse to renew the lease.
If a landlord doesn't tender a lease at least 90 days before the current lease expires, they waive the right to increase the rent as soon as the law allows, according to the Met Council on Housing, a nonprofit that works with tenants to ensure their rights.
Because your landlord has offered a late renewal offer, you can choose to have the lease start either on the day the lease would have started had the offer been received on time or 90 days after the extension offer was made, said Rosalind Black, citywide housing director at Legal Services NYC. In your case, choosing the later extension date means that you won't owe the rent increase until December.
“You have a fulfilled lease and there is no risk of losing your apartment,” Mr. Gordon said. You do not have to pay for your landlord's incompetence. If she is still trying to collect the higher rent for the months before December, you can file a rent overpayment lawsuit with the Department of Housing and Community Renewal.