N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9 § 2522.5

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 2522.5 - Lease agreements

(a) Vacancy lease or rental.

(1) For housing accommodations other than hotels, upon the renting of a vacant housing accommodation, the owner shall provide to the tenant a copy of the fully executed lease for a one- or two-year term, at the tenant's option (except where a mortgage or mortgage commitment existing as of April 1, 1969 prohibits the granting of one-year lease terms), bearing the signature of the owner and tenant and the beginning and ending dates of the lease term, within 30 days from the owner's receipt of the vacancy lease signed by the tenant. Such lease shall conform to the intent of section 5-702 of the General Obligations Law (plain English). The rent provided therein may not exceed the last legal regulated rent in addition to all increases authorized by this code. For a housing accommodation subject to the City Rent Law which becomes vacant after March 31, 1984, the owner may not increase the rent charged in the initial lease or other rental agreement pursuant to annual guidelines for a period of one year or until the expiration date of the initial lease or rental agreement, whichever is later.

(2) For housing accommodations in hotels rented to an occupant who has never had a lease, such occupant may at any time during his or her occupancy request a lease and the owner must, within 15 days after such request, grant a lease commencing on the date such request was made at a rent which does not exceed the legal regulated rent, for a term of at least six months. The hotel occupant who requests such a lease becomes a permanent tenant but the lease need not be renewed. Notwithstanding the above, an owner shall not refuse to grant a lease or to extend or continue a tenancy in order to prevent the hotel occupant from becoming a permanent tenant, except to the extent that the owner may be permitted to do so by law pursuant to a warrant of eviction, or other order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or a governmental vacate order.

(3) In addition, where a hotel occupant has not requested a lease, an owner shall not refuse to extend or continue a tenancy solely in order to prevent the hotel occupant from becoming a permanent tenant.

(b) Renewal lease.

(1) For housing accommodations other than hotels, upon such notice as is required by section 2523.5 of this Title, the tenant shall have the right of selecting at his or her option a renewal of his or her lease for a one- or two-year term; except that where a mortgage or a mortgage commitment existing as of April 1, 1969 prohibits the granting of one- year lease terms or the tenant is the recipient of a Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption pursuant to section 26-509 of the Administrative code of the City of New York, the tenant may not select a one-year lease. The owner shall furnish to the tenant signing a renewal lease form, pursuant to section 2523.5 of this Title, a copy of the fully executed renewal lease form, bearing the signatures of the owner and tenant, and the beginning and ending dates of the lease term, within 30 days from the owner's receipt of the renewal lease form signed by the tenant. Such renewal lease form shall conform to the intent of section 5-702 of the General Obligations Law.

(2) Upon complaint by the tenant that he or she was not served with a copy of the fully executed vacancy lease or renewal lease form pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) or paragraph (1) of this subdivision, the DHCR shall order the owner to furnish the copy of the vacancy lease or renewal lease form. In addition to any other penalties provided under this code, noncompliance by the owner within 20 days of such order shall result in the denial of any rent guideline increases for vacancy or renewal leases until the fully executed copy of the vacancy lease or renewal lease form is furnished by the owner to the tenant.

(c) Lease rider and notice of rights.

(1) For housing accommodations subject to this code, an owner shall furnish to each tenant signing a vacancy or renewal lease, a rider in a form promulgated or approved by the DHCR, in larger type than the lease, describing the rights and duties of owners and tenants as provided for under the RSL including a detailed description in a format as prescribed by DHCR of how the rent was adjusted from the prior legal rent. Such rider shall conform to the "plain English" requirements of section 5-702 of the General Obligations Law. Copies of the form as promulgated by DHCR shall also be available in all languages that may be required pursuant to DHCR's language access plan. The rider shall be attached as an addendum to the lease. Upon the face of each lease, in bold print, in English and any other language as required by the DHCR language access plan, shall appear the following: "ATTACHED RIDER SETS FORTH RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF TENANTS AND LANDLORDS UNDER THE RENT STABILIZATION LAW."

(i) For vacancy leases, such rider shall in addition also include a notice of the prior legal regulated rent, if any, which was in effect immediately prior to the vacancy, an explanation, and in a format prescribed by DHCR, how the rental amount provided for in the vacancy lease has been computed above the amount shown in the most recent annual registration statement, as well as the prior lease, and a statement that any increase above the amount set forth in such registration statement is in accordance with the adjustments permitted by the rent guidelines board and this code.

(ii) Such rider shall also set forth that the tenant may, within 60 days of the execution of the lease, require the owner to provide the documentation directly to the tenant supporting the detailed description regarding the adjustment of the prior legal rent pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph. The owner shall provide such documentation within thirty days of that request.

(iii) The method of service of the lease rider, the tenant request for documentation, and the owner's provision of documentation, together with proof of same, shall conform to the requirements set forth in the lease rider itself or such other bulletin or document rendered pursuant to section 2527.11 of this Title.

(iv) For renewal leases, such rider shall be attached to the form sent to the tenant pursuant to section 2523.5 of this Title.

(2) For housing accommodations in hotels, each owner shall furnish to each person, at the time of registration, a Notice of Rights in a form promulgated or approved by the DHCR, describing the rights and duties of hotel owners, occupants and tenants as provided for under the RSL and this code and a hotel occupant's right to become a permanent tenant at a legal regulated rent by requesting a lease for a term of at least six months at any time during his or her occupancy. Such notice, which shall conform to the "plain English" requirements of section 5-702 of the General Obligations Law, shall also be available in Spanish. Such notice shall be provided to each hotel occupant in residence on the effective date of this code no later than 90 days from such effective date. An owner who violates the RSL and this code by failing to furnish this Notice of Rights, and/or by engaging in any conduct which compels a person to rent as a hotel occupant, prevents a hotel occupant from becoming a permanent tenant, or results in a hotel occupant vacating a housing accommodation, shall be subject to a loss of a guidelines adjustment pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subdivision as well as penalties pursuant to section 2526.2(b) and (c)(1) of this Title, and may be subject to a penalty pursuant to section 2526.2(c)(2) of this Title, in an amount no less than $1,000.

(3) Where a tenant, permanent tenant or hotel occupant is not furnished, as required by the above provision, with a copy of the lease rider pursuant to paragraph (1), the notice pursuant to paragraph (2), or the documentation required on demand by paragraph (1)(ii) of this subdivision, the owner shall not be entitled to collect any adjustments in excess of the rent set forth in the prior lease unless the owner can establish that the rent collected was otherwise legal. In addition to issuing an order with respect to applicable overcharges, DHCR shall order the owner to furnish the missing rider, notice, or documentation. The furnishing of the rider, notice, or documentation by the owner to the tenant or hotel occupant shall result in the elimination, prospectively, of such penalty. With respect to housing accommodations in hotels, noncompliance by the owner shall not prevent the hotel occupant from becoming a permanent tenant.

(d) Limitations. No provision may be made in any vacancy or renewal lease for adjustment of the legal regulated rent reserved in the lease except as follows:

(1) if the applicable rent guidelines rate has not been fixed by the execution date of the vacancy lease or the renewal offer, the lease may make provision for the rent increase, if any, pursuant to the said rate when filed, to become effective as of the commencement date of the lease term, unless the rent guidelines board shall have fixed a later effective date for the said rate, in which event the adjustment may only be effective as of the later date;

(2) where such lease provides that the rental reserved therein may be increased pursuant to an order issued by the DHCR; or

(3) where such lease provides that a rent increase shall be in the amount, if any, authorized by the DHCR in the event an application is filed to establish a hardship pursuant to section 2522.4(c) or (d) of this Part; and

(4) in the case of a vacancy lease, where an application for a rent adjustment pursuant to 2522.4(b), (c) or (d) of this Part is pending before the DHCR, such lease also recites that such application is pending before the DHCR and the basis for the adjustment, and that the increase which is the subject of such application, if granted, may be effective during the term of the lease.

(e) Escalator clauses.

(1) Regardless of whether an escalator clause was contained in the last effective lease or other rental agreement prior to April 1, 1984, no renewal lease or vacancy lease commencing on or after April 1, 1984 shall provide for any escalator clause, except that nothing herein shall prohibit the use of escalator clauses otherwise required by any other statute or regulation affecting the housing accommodation.

(2) For buildings receiving benefits pursuant to section 421-a of the Real Property Tax Law and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, such clauses may provide for an annual or other periodic rent increase over the initial rent at an average rate of not more than 2.2 percent of the amount of such initial rent per annum not to exceed the maximum cumulative amount, if any, permitted under the 421-a program rules and regulations. After the tax benefits end, such additional 2.2 percent charges shall no longer be added but the owner may continue to collect the cumulative 2.2 percent increases charged prior to the termination of said tax benefits. Any lease containing the aforementioned provision shall also include a rider with an endorsement signed by the tenant acknowledging the owner's right to include such provision and to collect such rent increase for the tax benefit period. Such rider shall state the approximate date of the expiration of such tax benefits.

(3) Nothing in paragraph (2) of this subdivision shall prohibit the inclusion of a lease provision for an annual or other periodic rent increase over the legal regulated rent at such rate of rental increase as is provided for and authorized by section 423 of the Real Property Tax Law. Such additional charges pursuant to such section 423 shall no longer be added after the tax benefits end. Any lease containing the aforementioned provision shall also include a rider with an endorsement signed by the tenant acknowledging the owner's right to include such provision and to collect such rent increase for the tax benefit period. Such rider shall state the approximate date of the expiration of such tax benefits.

(4) No additional charge which became effective on or after November 19, 1982, pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subdivision, shall become part of the legal regulated rent.

(f) Same terms and conditions.

(1) The lease provided to the tenant by the owner pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section shall be on the same terms and conditions as the expired lease, except where the owner can demonstrate that the change is necessary in order to comply with a specific requirement of law or regulation applicable to the building or to leases for housing accommodations subject to the RSL, or with the approval of the DHCR. Nothing herein may limit the inclusion of authorized clauses otherwise permitted by this Code or by order of the DHCR not contained in the expiring lease. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the tenant shall have the right to have his or her spouse or domestic partner added to the lease or any renewal thereof as an additional tenant where said spouse or domestic partner resides in the housing accommodation as his or her primary residence.

(g) Leases for housing accommodations in cooperative or condominium-owned buildings shall be governed as follows:

(1) An owner of one or more housing accommodations subject to this Code may evict the tenant of such housing accommodation and/or refuse to renew a lease therefor, if such housing accommodation is in a building, group of buildings or development which is the subject of an Eviction Plan for conversion to cooperative or condominium ownership under General Business Law, section 352-eeee (hereinafter "section 352-eeee"), provided:

(i) the Attorney General has accepted for filing a plan to convert the building, group of buildings or development to cooperative or condominium ownership and an amendment declaring the plan effective as an Eviction Plan has been accepted for filing and a closingh as been held thereunder; and

(ii) three years have elapsed from the date on which the Attorney General has accepted for filing an amendment declaring the plan effective as an Eviction Plan, and at such time or there after the tenant's lease has expired or has been cancelled pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subdivision.

(2) A tenant in occupancy of a housing accommodation subject to this Code shall have the right to a renewal lease or in the case of a permanent tenant, to continue his or her tenancy on the terms and conditions and at the rent and adjustments thereto as otherwise provided for in this Code.

(3) For the purposes of this section, filing date shall mean the date on which a letter was issued by the Attorney General accepting a plan for filing.

(4) After the filing date, and prior to the plan being declared effective, if a housing accommodation subject to this Code is vacated, such housing accommodation may only be rented at a rent and upon such terms and conditions as are authorized under this Code for a vacancy lease. Notwith standing the foregoing, if a vacancy lease herein called an interim lease for such housing accommodation is executed in connection with an agreement to purchase such housing accommodation or the shares allocated thereto, pursuant to any Eviction Plan or Non-Eviction Plan, as defined by section 352-eeee, such interim lease:

(i) may provide that once the plan has been declared effective, if the tenant fails to purchase his or her housing accommodation or the shares allocated thereto on the terms set forth in the subscription or purchase agreement, or otherwise terminates or defaults on the subscription or purchase agreement, such tenant may be evicted; and

(ii) may provide for a rental below the legal regulated rent which shall not, upon the abandonment or withdrawal of the plan, be increased to the legal regulated rent. If the plan is abandoned or withdrawn, such tenant remains a rent-stabilized tenant.

(5) If a housing accommodation which was subject to this Code is vacated or is rented to a new tenant after any plan which affects such housing accommodation has been declared effective, and a closing thereunder has occurred, such housing accommodation shall not be subject to this Code.

(6) If a building, group of buildings or development containing units to which this Code applies is converted to cooperative or condominium ownership, the services which shall be required to be maintained under this Code with respect to housing accommodations which remain subject to this Code shall not be diminished or modified without the approval of the DHCR as provided for in section 2522.4(e) or (f) of this Part.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 2522.5

Amended New York State Register November 8, 2023/Volume XLV, Issue 45, eff. 11/8/2023