By Carolyn Zezima, Esq.

Many state housing finance agencies are adding energy assessment and conservation measures to their Qualified Allocation Plans (QAPs) that encourage owners and managers to take steps to reduce their site’s energy and water usage and to engage and educate residents in making the site a greener, more sustainable place to live.

The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) has just announced an increase in this year’s air-conditioner rent surcharge for owners who pay for electricity. It set the monthly surcharge at $27.89, up from $22.66 last year. This year’s increase reflects a 5.9 percent increase in the Price Index of Operating Costs as calculated by the Rent Guidelines Board and published in its research reports.

When you renew a rent-stabilized tenant’s lease and raise the rent, you’re entitled to collect an increase in the tenant’s security deposit. That’s because you’re legally entitled to collect one month’s rent as a security deposit. So if the tenant’s monthly rent rises, you may increase the security deposit to reflect the new, higher rent.

If you sign a vacancy lease with a tenant between Oct. 1, 2013, and Sept. 30, 2014, the new order issued on June 20 by the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB)--RGBO #45--lets you collect the vacancy increases permitted under the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997 (RRRA).

On June 20, 2013, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) issued an order—RGBO #45—setting the rent increases you may take for rent-stabilized tenants in New York City on leases beginning anytime on or after Oct. 1, 2013, through Sept. 30, 2014. This year the increases are about double what they were last year.

You must file an Annual Apartment Registration application with the DHCR for every rent-stabilized apartment you own by July 31, 2013. As in past years, the penalty for not filing is stiff: You can’t collect a rent increase—or even apply for one—until you file.

The energy used in America’s buildings is responsible for almost 8 percent of global carbon emissions and costs Americans more than $500 billion every year. Despite this enormous impact and expense, much about this energy use remains mysterious. Unlike our general awareness of the mileage-per-gallon performance when we buy or operate a car, most owners and managers don’t know whether their buildings are efficient. And tenants are usually even less aware.

If your building’s boiler breaks down this winter, you should be ready with a game plan to avoid fines, city-imposed repair charges, or rent cuts. You should be prepared to respond quickly and have your boiler repair company’s contact information handy.

The Department of Buildings (DOB) recently announced that the inspection and report deadlines for low- and high-pressure boilers have been extended to Dec. 31. In addition, reports for these inspections are now due no later than Feb. 15, 2013.