If you own a rent regulated apartment building, you are entitled to periodically raise rents to cover costs, as determined by the New York City Rent Guidelines Board (for rent stabilized units) or the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (for rent controlled units). The SCRIE Program protects eligible seniors from having to pay most of those increases. This is called a rent increase exemption.

The City of New York then gives you a dollar-for-dollar property tax abatement credit (TAC) that makes up for the rent monies your tenants have been exempted from paying. The Department for the Aging (DFTA) authorizes the TACs and electronically transfers them to the building owner's property tax account at the Department of Finance (DOF).