Rent raised over 5%--is this legal?

[youbet]

I’m going to review everything with my mom and a friend of mine in the industry.

Good idea, and please let us know how this turns out. It's an interesting situation and many of us will be curious to hear the results.

I do wonder what your specific objective is. If it is to get your mom a new 2 year lease limited to a 5% rent increase, I don't think that's going to happen. But, as njhowie mentioned, whether you call it an extension of the current lease or simply staying an additional month on a month to month basis, until a new lease begins, you're getting one additional month at the current, lower rent.

Do you have any feel for the demand for apartments in your building? Would the landlord face a month or two vacancy if your mom moved or is there demand that would immediately fill it?

I googled around a bit and quickly figured out that the NYC rules and regs are darn complicated. Good luck with all of this.

 

[rk911]

What a rude response to Bamaman. It sure doesn't encourage further discussion.

totally agree. that post was totally uncalled for. read the lease or consult an atty. if you do the latter try and keep a civil tongue.

 

[pb4uski]

Her apartment is market rate. However if the tenant has lived in the apartment for over two years you have to give them a minimum of 90 days notice if you are going to raise the rent more than 5 %. The current lease expires 1/31/23 so they had to notify her by 11/1/22. They did not do that.

So if tomorrow they notify her that they will keep her current rent through Feb 28 but will increase it 10% on March 1 why wouldn't they be within their rights? They would be giving her more than the 90 day noticed that is required.

What does the lease say happens at the end of the lease term?

 

[FREE866]

So if tomorrow they notify her that they will keep her current rent through Feb 28 but will increase it 10% on March 1 why wouldn't they be within their rights? They would be giving her more than the 90 day noticed that is required.

What does the lease say happens at the end of the lease term?

I would think they have to get consent to extend the lease an extra month no?
But it looks like they have gone ahead and done that.



I'm speaking in the next couple of days with a couple agents that I know that have been in industry for decades in addition to a lawyer referral to discuss how to approach this.

 

[njhowie]

I would think they have to get consent to extend the lease an extra month no?
But it looks like they have gone ahead and done that.

I'm speaking in the next couple of days with a couple agents that I know that have been in industry for decades in addition to a lawyer referral to discuss how to approach this.

They aren't extending the lease. Her lease is up/expired. As the page at the Met Council on Housing indicates, on the FAQ asking "If my lease expired and I was not given a renewal offer, can I keeping paying the same rent?", there are two scenarios:

If your lease ends and you try to keep paying the rent but your landlord refuses to accept the rent, you are NOT in a month-to-month tenancy. Your landlord may be preparing to start a court case to have you evicted.


If your lease ends and your landlord continues to accept your rent, you have entered into a month-to-month tenancy arrangement. As a month-to-month tenant, every month that your landlord collects rent from you, he/she is accepting you as a tenant in that apartment for another month.

Now, being that landlord has offered a new lease beginning the following month, clearly we have the second scenario for the one month.

 

[NgineER]

What I find odd in this situation that it did not change to a month-to-month lease. It changed to a partial month extension, and this might be the only way for you to further delay the rent increase, but it will be coming and it is within their rights to increase the rent. My leases state that there has to be a 30 day notification for a rent increase, and it has to happen before the new term, be it what is remaining of the lease, or if month-to-month before the start of the month (as that is the term of the lease). If her lease was changing to month-to-month, then I would expect a full month extension, and not a partial month.

 

[SecondAttempt]

When someone responds with nothing constructive, other than an opinion not based in fact it encourages a rude response

Not here. Most of us try to be civil to each other. Maybe you are not a regular here but after your response to Bamaman, I doubt you will get much constructive advice from others. He tried to be helpful and you replied with what you admit was a rude response.

For entertainment purposes, can you enlighten us as to why you think others who may be able to help you are now going to stick their neck out?

 

[SecondAttempt]

I would think they have to get consent to extend the lease an extra month no?
But it looks like they have gone ahead and done that.

First off, they cannot extend the lease without consent. You mother is free to stop paying rent and move at the end of January. What they have done is offered to allow her to stay at the lower rate until a later date. It sounds like they are responsible landlords who are complying with the law.

 

[Texas Proud]

Just stop saying that they are 'extending the lease'. They are not.


What they are doing is saying that your mom does not have to move out at the end of the lease as they will allow her to stay on a month to month basis.


Now, the second thing they are doing is complying with the law on giving you a 90 day notice for a rate increase... I would bet that there is nothing in the law saying that you have to be IN a lease (not a month to month) for this to happen...


I will agree that NYC law is different than other pats of the country but I think this was not a rent controlled apt...

 

[ncbill]

If the OP is living in the same building and paying I assume roughly the same rent have they considered options if the landlord keeps raising rent 10% annually on the both of them?

~$8k/month towards housing would buy a pretty nice place in a lower COL area...with an "in-law" suite or the ability to build an ADU.

 

[HarveyS]

If you push back very hard, I think there is a very good chance the landlord may decide not to renew the lease at any price. I suspect that the odd, mid-month new lease date plus a 10% increase is their way of telling you to "have a nice day". Perhaps you have had other dialogs with them that did not go so well?

 

[38Chevy454]

Agree with the rest of the replies that sounds like the landlord is complying with the 90 day notice by offering the partial month's extension.

They could just tell your mother "lease is up, move out" and get a new tenant for her place. Seems they want to keep your mother as tenant. Just at new market rent cost. But read the lease and learn what it says. That has the requirements.

To me, your response to Bamaman and also the way you want to get lawyers involved is not good. Kinda feel bad for the landlord. I'm not surprised rent is going up since the large real estate market value changes in past year.

Edit to add: any lawyer time beyond a simple letter is likely to use up any savings in smaller rent amount increase.

 

[Texas Proud]

It still tickles me that people keep saying to read the lease... the lease end in January.... nothing in the lease would be in effect after Jan 31... except if there is language for a month to month...


Unless there was a renewal option which are not for most apts but are for business leases...

 

[cathy63]

It still tickles me that people keep saying to read the lease... the lease end in January.... nothing in the lease would be in effect after Jan 31... except if there is language for a month to month...

Many leases do say what is to happen at the end of the lease term.

For example, the lease I've used with my tenants specifically says that the tenancy converts to a month-to-month rental under the same terms as the lease (i.e. no pets, no smoking, rent due on 1st of month, etc). I have seen other forms where you can specify that the tenant must move out if no replacement lease has been signed prior to expiration; and I've also seen forms that say the lease automatically renews for a set period of x months if no replacement lease has been signed.

It's possible that OP's lease doesn't have any language at all about what happens at the end of the term, but finding out if it does say something relevant is a reasonable first step here.

 

[Texas Proud]

Many leases do say what is to happen at the end of the lease term.

For example, the lease I've used with my tenants specifically says that the tenancy converts to a month-to-month rental under the same terms as the lease (i.e. no pets, no smoking, rent due on 1st of month, etc). I have seen other forms where you can specify that the tenant must move out if no replacement lease has been signed prior to expiration; and I've also seen forms that say the lease automatically renews for a set period of x months if no replacement lease has been signed.

It's possible that OP's lease doesn't have any language at all about what happens at the end of the term, but finding out if it does say something relevant is a reasonable first step here.

I covered that in my post