What is 412a surcharges
A few friends of mine saw 421a surcharges on their rent and asked me if it’s legal for the landlord to raise rent that way. Well, the short answer is yes unfortunately. But there are three prerequisites to be met before your landlord can impose the surcharges on your rent. Here is some background information. 421a is a NYS tax incentive program and administered by HPD and DOF in New York City. The program provides property tax abatement (for a period of time) to real estate owners or developers who construct new residential buildings. In return, a portion of the residential units created will be set aside as affordable units and all units in the building will be subject to NYS rent regulation. Within the tax abatement period, the owner can raise rent up to a maximum amount set by the Rent Guideline Board (RGB). Historically, this maximum amount is around 1-1.5%, which is very small compared to the general rent movement in NYC. However, there is a special provision in 421a that...