As an owner participating in the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program, you can renew the lease with your tenant(s) when the existing lease is set to expire. All lease renewals and contract rent increases must comply with local, State and Federal law, including, but not limited to the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act and the New York Good Cause Eviction Law (Good Cause Eviction | Homes and Community Renewal (ny.gov) and good-cause-eviction (nyc.gov)). All lease renewal requests must be sent to NYCHA prior to the expiration of the current lease for review and processing. Below is an overview of the lease renewal process:
In addition to submitting a written lease renewal request, you must also submit applicable supporting documents. A list of the documents that must be provided based on the type of unit you own is provided on the back of the NYCHA "Landlord Request for Lease Renewal Approval" form.
NYCHA will not process a lease renewal request until all required documents have been submitted and, the rent has been determined reasonable.
You will be notified in writing of the outcome of the review. If approved, you and the tenant will be notified of the new tenant share, NYCHA’s share to the owner, and the effective date of the change. You can also see the status of your request on the Owner Extranet.
HUD requires NYCHA to determine rent reasonableness to ensure that rents charged by owners to Section 8 participants do not exceed rents currently being charged for comparable unassisted units in the private market. NYCHA considers the following factors when determining rent reasonableness: location; unit size and type; age of the subject unit; property amenities and services; and utilities provided by the owner as specified by the lease.
A rent reasonableness evaluation is conducted prior to entering into the HAP contract with an owner and approving a rent increase. NYCHA utilizes a third party vendor, AffordableHousing.com, for all rent reasonableness evaluations. AffordableHousing.com utilizes both a unit to unit and unit to market approach to select the closest and most similar unassisted units within the given area.
On June 21, 2023, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) gave the approval for the annual rent increases for leases commencing October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024:
To comply with the implementation of the rent adjustments enacted by Order #55, which includes rent stabilized leases commencing on or after October 1, 2023and through September 30, 2024, NYCHA has implemented the following:
NYCHA will only require ONE lease renewal submission (NYS HCR Renewal Lease Form Completion, effective 6/23): for the one-year and two-year leases:
Note: NYCHA complies with HUD regulations and conducts a rent reasonableness evaluation for all lease renewals and contract rent changes. If the rent is found not reasonableness at any point of the lease renewal process, including at start of the 2nd year increase, then NYCHA will notify you via mail.
On December 15, 2022, Governor Hochul signed Section 610 of the Private Housing Finance Law. The new law allows owners of rent stabilization buildings with Section 8 tenant- or project-based rental assistance to collect up to the full rental subsidy amount, even if it is above the legal rent, subject to rent reasonableness. Owners will need to execute an amendment to the regulatory agreement or submit an approval letter with the lead agency (e.g., New York City Depart of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD), New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR), and Housing, Development Fund Corporation (HDFC)) that specifically authorizes them to seek contract rent increases pursuant.
For New Rentals: To take advantage of Section 610 for a new tenant, you must submit the rental package with the new rent amount before the tenant rental is processed. For new rentals that were approved for a move-in at a lower rent, you may request the higher Section 610 rent at the next lease renewal.
For Lease Renewals: To request a 610 increase at the lease renewal (or PBV HAP anniversary date), you must submit the request with the lease renewal or contract rent change request. If the paperwork for a Section 610 increase is not received and the lease renewal is approved, you may request the Section 610 rent at the next lease renewal or next PBV HAP anniversary date.
Approval letter from the governing agency e.g., NYC HPD, NYS HCR, HDC, HFA, and/or the exhibit to the new or amended regulatory agreement that includes Section 610 language