When Rent Includes Electricity
by Jay Romano
Q. Is electricity included in the rent in New York City apartments?
A. Not typically, said Jarred I. Kassenoff, a Manhattan real estate lawyer. Although the owner of an unregulated rental apartment has to equip it properly for the use of electricity, and must maintain electrical outlets and wiring, a landlord is not required to pay for electricity used by the tenant unless it is listed as a condition of the tenancy.
“The situation is quite different under rent regulation,” Mr. Kassenoff said. “Under rent stabilization and rent control, if the landlord was providing electricity as of a certain ‘base date,’ the date when the building became subject to regulation, the service must continue until the state’s Division of Housing and Community Renewal approves the conversion of the building from an ‘electrical inclusion’ to an ‘electrical exclusion’ building.”
Should that occur, he added, the regulated tenants’ rent then could be reduced. A schedule describing the criteria and amount of the reduction is on the agency’s Web site.
# # #