Real Estate Q & A

By JAY ROMANO

Q. After 40 years in a rent-stabilized apartment, I must now move. Will I have any protection in the new apartment when I turn 65? I’m concerned that my new landlord will increase my rent as much as he wants when it’s time for a renewal.

A. “Unless seniors move to regulated or subsidized housing, or the new lease provides otherwise, they are not exempt from renewal increases set by a landlord,” said Glenn H. Spiegel, a Manhattan real estate lawyer.

Mr. Spiegel notes, however, that if the letter writer moves into another regulated apartment, she may qualify for a Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption, which would freeze the rent at its current level and exempt her from future renewal increases. To qualify, she must get a regulated apartment, have a total annual household income of $29,000 or less, and pay more than a third of the income toward the rent.

Although rent increases in free-market apartments can’t be prevented if the tenant doesn’t qualify for the exemption, he said, state law allows residents 62 and older — under certain circumstances — to end a tenancy before the lease expires without having to pay the balance of the lease term. The circumstances dictate that residents move into an adult-care facility, a nursing home, subsidized housing, or the home of a family member. Mr. Spiegel noted that in such cases, a physician must certify that the tenant is no longer physically able to live independently.

# # #

SEE THE ENTIRE COLUMN HERE