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NO RENT INCREASE IF TENANT FIXES KITCHEN

Q & A

By JAY ROMANO
Published: March 8, 2013

Updating a Rental's Kitchen

Q I live in a rent-stabilized apartment and want to update my kitchen. I understand that I need the landlord's approval. If I pay for the improvements myself, is the landlord still entitled to add one-fortieth of the cost of the improvements to the monthly rent?

A It is unlikely the landlord would agree to renovations that were paid for by the tenant, because under current law such an arrangement would probably keep him from increasing the rent, said Lucas A. Ferrara, a Manhattan real estate lawyer and an adjunct professor at New York Law School.

Under the law, he said, when a rent-stabilized tenant in a building with more than 35 apartments wants or consents to a renovation, the landlord can collect a permanent rent increase equal to one-sixtieth the cost of the improvement. In buildings with 35 apartments or fewer, the owner can collect an increase of one-fortieth the cost. But when renovation costs are not incurred by the landlord, all or part of the increase may be disallowed.

“So, in this instance, if the landlord permits the tenant to pay all the costs, then that work would likely not qualify for an increase,” Mr. Ferrara said. And absent a permanent bump-up in the rent, a landlord may not have the incentive necessary to agree to this rent-regulated tenant’s proposed kitchen project.

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