So my super slid a renewal under the door this morning. Building is rent stabilized, I've been in the line for over ten years, never missed a month. They added two new lines on the rider: a monthly statement fee if I want paper bills, and a convenience fee if I pay through the online portal. I used to just hand a check to the office downstairs. Now they're acting like the office won't take checks unless I mail them to some PO box, and if the mail runs late, it's my problem.

Is this even legal in a stabilized building? I don't want to sign a rider that makes me pay extra just to pay my own rent. Feels like a junk fee with extra steps. Anyone else seeing this on their renewal?

I would push back on this pretty firmly. Not a lawyer, but for rent stabilized tenants the annual renewal increase is supposed to come from the RGB-approved percentage, not from a menu of new administrative fees. A few things to check:

• Look at the payment clause in your current lease. If it says you can pay by check at a specific address or office, they generally can't unilaterally eliminate that method just because they want everyone on the portal.
• If the only way to pay online comes with a fee, and they're simultaneously making paper payment difficult, that fee starts to look like an unlawful rent increase, not a true convenience charge.
• The paper statement fee is especially weak. You didn't opt into receiving paper as some premium service. They're trying to shift ordinary bookkeeping costs to tenants.

What I would do: email the management office and ask them to provide the renewal rider and the exact language that authorizes those fees. Tell them you object in writing and that you'll continue to pay by check under the existing lease terms. If they refuse a check in person, send it by certified mail to the address on the management registration so you have proof of delivery. Keep a copy of the check and certified receipt. You can also file an online complaint with the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal if they try to hit you with late fees after refusing your valid payment.

The key is not signing away your rights. Once a rider says you agreed to pay a portal fee or a statement fee, it becomes harder to argue later that it was forced on you. If the office suddenly says they won't renew without the rider, document that too because it's a stronger pattern of harassment or improper surcharge.

Wait, I'm new to this and my building in Brooklyn just sent something similar. It said renewals are online now and there's a "manual processing" charge if you still pay by paper check. I was literally going to pay it because I thought that's just how it works now.

Is that not normal? If I write a check anyway, can they refuse it and then charge me a late fee? Also, what do you actually say in a DHCR complaint? Do you need a lawyer or can you just upload the lease? I don't want to make them mad right before renewal but I also don't want to pay something shady.

Beth, don't just eat the fee. Some older tenants in my line kept dropping checks through the old office slot and saving their bank records, and the property manager backed off once somebody mentioned 311 and the state look-back on fees. They're counting on people being too nervous to fight it.

To astoria_arch: thanks, that lease clause point is good. My current lease says "pay by check to the address below," and that address is the office in my building. So this whole portal-or-mail PO box switch feels like they changed the terms without a proper rider. I'm emailing them today and keeping a copy of the email. If they still try to charge me a late fee when the check gets there before the 5th, I'll file the DHCR complaint and let them explain why a registered check wasn't good enough.

I had basically this same setup in Flatbush last cycle. They tried to add a billing services fee for each monthly statement and then another charge for paying online. I refused both, kept sending checks by certified mail to the office they listed, and after a couple months the charges quietly disappeared from the tenant portal.

The important part was not signing the renewal rider with those fees added. I wrote "objecting to new payment and billing fees" on the rider signature line and sent back a copy. They weren't happy, but they didn't actually refuse to renew.

Beth, for the DHCR question: you don't need a lawyer to start. You can file a complaint online about an improper rent increase or unauthorized fee. Take a screenshot of the portal showing the charges, save the mailing with the new fee notice, and keep proof you submitted a check on time. Even if they don't cash it right away, the late fee becomes harder for them to defend when you can show you tendered rent under the old terms and kept the receipt.