Management Basics

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Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, as well as the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane in history, surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. According to recent accounts, victims of Hurricane Sandy have been streaming into temporary emergency rooms and relief centers complaining of rashes, asthma, and coughing. Some need tetanus shots after mishandling waterlogged boards and getting poked by rusty nails.

The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) has just announced a cut in this year's air-conditioner rent surcharge for owners who pay for electricity. It set the monthly surcharge at $22.66, down from $29.13last year. This year's decrease reflects a 22.2 percent decrease in the price of electricity for electrical inclusion buildings as calculated by the Rent Guidelines Board's 2012 Price Index of Operating Costs issued in April 2012.

The time is approaching when you’ll need to get your heating system online for the upcoming cold weather. In New York City, heating season officially begins on Oct. 1. By law, owners are also required to provide tenants with heat under the following conditions: Between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., if the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees, the inside temperature is required to be at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit; and, between the hours of 10 p.m.

Although a development project may go as planned, it’s not unusual for problems to arise so that the project has to be redesigned. With every redesign comes an upset tenant that may feel like you’re pushing the envelope by including or doing away with aspects of the center that attracted it in the first place. You might be able to get away with small changes without ruffling any tenant feathers. But how far can you go before prompting a lawsuit?

In our feature, we discussed one type of an illegal sublet: when a tenant rents out his or her apartment using short-term rental Web sites. But what happens when a tenant approaches you about a long-term rental agreement with another individual? In these situations, the tenant wants you to approve a legitimate sublet request.

If you sign a vacancy lease with a tenant between Oct. 1, 2012, and Sept. 30, 2013, the new order issued on June 21 by the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB)—RGBO #44—lets you collect the vacancy increases permitted under the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997 (RRRA).

On June 21, 2012, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) issued an order—RGBO #44—setting the rent increases you may take for rent-stabilized tenants in New York City on leases beginning anytime on or after Oct. 1, 2012, through Sept. 30, 2013. As a result of the RGB's decisions, this year's allowable renewal increases are the lowest increases in a decade.

The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) has released the forms you need to register your rent-stabilized apartments for 2012. You must file an Annual Apartment Registration form [RR-2A (2012)] with the DHCR for every rent-stabilized apartment you own by July 31, 2012. 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 Rent Guidelines Board (RGB), a nine-member panel that sets annual rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments, met on May 1 to vote on preliminary numbers for increasing rent-stabilized rents. The board voted for rent hikes of between 1.75 and 4 percent on new one-year leases and increases of between 3.5 percent and 6.75 percent for two-year renewal leases.

On Jan. 20, the DHCR issued new fuel cost adjustment factors for rent-controlled apartments for the 2012 calendar year. The findings indicate that all types of heating oil (#2, #4, #6), steam, and coal increased in price during the 2011 calendar year, while prices decreased for buildings heated with gas or electricity.