Starting October 1, 2015, property owners of rent-stabilized apartments in Westchester County will be able to increase their legal rents. The Westchester County Rent Guidelines Board approved an increase for one year leases from 1.5% to 1.75% and an increase for two year leases from 2.5% to 2.75%. For units where heat and hot water are not included, the owner rates are 1.4% for a one year lease term and 2.2% for a two year lease term. The vacancy increase will remain 20% for two year vacancy leases and 19% for one year vacancy leases.
Westchester County has more than 25,000 rent stabilized apartment units with the majority of these units located in Yonkers, Mount Vernon and New Rochelle. These communities along with 15 other municipalities in Westchester County have adopted the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 (ETPA) and are subject to the rent adjustments by the Westchester County Rent Guidelines Board. The following municipalities subject to the ETPA in Westchester are: Croton, Dobbs Ferry, Eastchester, Greenburgh, Harrison, Hastings, Irvington, Larchmont, Mamaroneck Town, Mount Kisco, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Pleasantville, Port Chester, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, White Plains, and Yonkers.
Property owners of rent-stabilized buildings are required to submit rent registrations each year to the Division of Housing and Community Renewal and these registrations include the current rent and the rental increase. If property owners charge more than the legal rent, they can be subject to serious and costly penalties.
Collectively, the attorneys at James G. Dibbini & Associates, P.C. have over 20 years of experience helping property owners and landlords understand their rights under the ETPA, increase their legal rents and ultimately destabilize their apartment units so they are no longer subject to these rent increase rates. To learn more about whether these rent increases apply to your apartment buildings or if you have any questions regarding rent stabilization, give us a call at 914-965-1011 to set up a consultation.
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