First time dealing with this. I moved into a two-bed in Crown Heights last month, rooming with someone who has been here a few years. The person I replaced is coming off the lease at renewal, so it would be me and the current roommate on the new lease. The lease is up in September. Management says we have to sign a brand new 12-month lease, not a renewal, and pay a lease-change fee plus the new rent at market.

Is that actually how this works? I assumed if one roommate stays, it's a renewal and the departing person just comes off. Am I wrong? Can they raise the rent that much for swapping in a roommate?

Depends if you're rent stabilized or market. If it's market, they can mostly set new terms at renewal, and a lease-change fee is junk but common enough that management won't blink. If it's stabilized, they absolutely don't get to treat a roommate change as a vacancy lease or slap on a 'processing fee.' The original tenant's rights usually continue.

But you said you only moved in last month and the person you replaced was the leaseholder? That changes it. You may not have any renewal rights yet. Do you have a sublet or roommate agreement? That's the first thing I'd pull out.

This is such a good question! Have you checked the rent history?? If the building is prewar and has more than six units, and they're saying 'non-stabilized,' I'd be suspicious!! The rules around replacing a leaseholder are VERY different depending on whether the remaining tenant is the original stabilized tenant or just a roommate.

Wait—did you live with the departing tenant for at least two years? Or did you move in after they'd already given notice? Because if you were a roommate of the departing rent-stabilized tenant for two years, you might have succession rights. But if you just showed up, you're likely an occupant, not a successor. Still, they can't call it a vacancy lease if the remaining original tenant is staying. It's a renewal with a party change.

Request the DHCR rent history before paying anything!

Thanks both. The lease actually says 'non-stabilized' in the renewal rider, but the building is prewar and I'm pretty sure it has maybe nine units. Does that automatically mean it should be stabilized? The current roommate has been there five years, and I was not living with the person I replaced. I only moved in last month, so I'm guessing I don't have succession rights.

How do I request the rent history without making the landlord angrier? The management office already seems annoyed that I asked about the fee. My roommate is worried they'll just not renew us if we push too hard.

You can't know from the building age and unit count alone. There are legal deregulation paths, so a nine-unit prewar might be deregulated if high-rent vacancy or other reason. But 'non-stabilized' on the rider isn't proof. Get the rent history from DHCR. It's a mailed request or you can use the online portal; it won't notify the landlord.

If you're market and you only arrived last month, you don't have much leverage. The replacement is essentially a new application. I'd still push back on the fee. Say you'll sign the new lease and pass the application, but you're not paying a lease-change fee for your own occupancy. Some places drop it, some tell you to kick rocks. Doesn't hurt unless the unit is about to get snapped up.

And don't let the roommate panic-sign before you see the rent history if that's the real concern.

Gowanus_G nailed it. A building being prewar and 9 units is not automatic stabilization—but the rent history will show it. If it was registered as stabilized with DHCR, take that very seriously. A landlord calling it 'non-stabilized' on a rider doesn't deregulate the unit by magic!

Have you tried the DHCR online portal or a FOIL? The request is not supposed to be shared with the landlord. And ask the current roommate: was there a DHCR lease rider in their old renewal? Was the original lease a rent-stabilized form? That's a tell.

Also, if the current roommate is the last original tenant, a change in named parties should not trigger a vacancy increase. It's a renewal with a change of parties. If they're charging a fee for that, I'd ask for the written policy—because it's probably not in your actual lease!

Quick update: I asked management to waive the fee and they said they'd 'check with the regional office.' Now the current roommate is freaking out that we'll lose the apartment. I'm going to request the DHCR rent history tonight anyway. If it comes back stabilized, at least we know we're not crazy.

Thanks Gowanus_G and DumboSunset. One last question—if the rent history shows it's been illegally deregulated, is that something I bring up before signing, or do I just sign and fight later? I don't want to blow up the deal over a fee nobody has in writing.