SCRIE Income Eligibility Limit Increases to $50,000 on July 1st:
After years of fighting to increase the income eligibility limit for the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) program, this year's state budget gave New York City the authority to raise the SCRIE income eligibility cap to $50,000. Late last month the mayor signed a bill the City Council passed last week to raise the SCRIE eligibility limit from $29,000 to $50,000, effective July 1, 2014.
The SCRIE program, administered by the New York City Department of Finance, exempts eligible tenants from future rent increases and provides landlords tax credits equal to the increases tenants otherwise would have paid. To qualify for SCRIE, you meet ALL the following criteria:
- Be at least 62 years old
- Live in an apartment that is rent stabilized or rent controlled
- Spend more than one-third of your monthly income on rent
- Have a household income of less than $50,000 in the previous calendar year (as of July 1)
You can obtain additional SCRIE information and applications on the Department of Finance website at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/property/property_tax_reduc_drie_sc_te.shtml, by calling 311
The Department of Finance has asked residents with incomes over $29,000 not to send in their applications until July 1st. Applications submitted before that date will likely be denied based on the current regulations.
You can also access information on the new eligibility rules at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/downloads/pdf/translations/scrie_faq.pdf