Hey everyone, first time dealing with a lease renewal on my own. I’m in a small prewar walkup in Dyker Heights and my lease is up soon. The renewal letter includes the usual rent increase, but also adds a new monthly “window guard inspection fee” and a rider saying the super can enter twice a year to check window guards and fire escapes. I don’t have kids under 10 and I never asked for guards, so I’m confused why they’d even be needed. Can they just add a new recurring fee at renewal like that? I haven’t signed anything yet and I’m trying to figure out if I should push back. Anyone else had this in their building?

Yo DykerNewbie, don’t sign that renewal yet. In a lot of prewar walkups around here the unit may be rent stabilized, and if it is, they can’t just invent new recurring charges that weren’t in your original lease unless there’s a legal basis. Even in a market-rate lease, a renewal fee that’s really just extra rent has to be clearly stated, and calling it an inspection fee doesn’t automatically make it enforceable. Window guards are generally required when a child under 10 lives in the apartment, or if you ask for them. If neither applies, I’d be skeptical. Ask them to point to the exact lease clause or law allowing the fee, and request your rent history from DHCR. If they get cagey, that tells you a lot.

Seconding Gowanus_G on the rent history thing. I had a landlord try to add a “boiler maintenance surcharge” at renewal in East Harlem a while back. When I asked for the legal basis, the management office went quiet for a week and then sent a “corrected” renewal without it. The entry rider might be less of a fight if it’s just two inspections a year and they give proper notice, but that should already be in the building’s window guard compliance process. If you’re stabilized, the renewal has to be offered on the same terms and conditions as your old lease, minus lawful increases. Also worth checking if your building has open HPD or DOB violations related to window guards. Sometimes they try to pass that cost onto tenants.

Thirding the rent history request. If it’s six or more units and prewar, that’s a pretty strong hint it could be stabilized, but the DHCR history will tell you. I actually looked this up when a friend in Flatbush got a similar rider. Window guards have to be installed in an apartment where a child under 10 lives, and owners are supposed to ask every year. If no kid lives there, the building might still have its own policy, but the “fee” part is suspect. A rider that only documents access twice a year is one thing; paying monthly for it is another. I’d write a short email asking them to remove the fee and cite the clause. Keep it in writing.

Thanks Gowanus_G, EastHarlem_E, Flatbush_Fi — this is super helpful. I asked my super about it and he said the building got a violation for missing window guards in a vacant unit, so the management is adding the fee “to cover insurance.” I also dug out my current lease and it says something like no additional fees except as allowed by law or DHCR. I requested my rent history online, so waiting to see what comes back. In the meantime I told them I’m not signing with the fee in there. If they come back and say it’s mandatory for the renewal, can they refuse to renew me over that? Sort of nervous but also pretty annoyed.

If you’re rent stabilized, no, they can’t refuse to renew because you won’t accept an illegal new fee. They’re required to offer a renewal, and the terms should match the previous lease plus any allowed increases. If you’re market rate, they’re generally allowed to choose not to renew with proper notice, but trying to force a junk fee with a vague insurance excuse is still weak. The building’s violation for a vacant unit is their cost, not a new amenity for you. I’d send one clear email: ask them to cite the specific law or lease clause authorizing the fee, and note that without that you’ll sign a renewal without the fee. Usually that’s enough to make it disappear. Let us know what DHCR says.