Hoping someone can help me understand a renewal my management just sent. My lease is rent stabilized, but there's a rider that says my actual rent is a 'preferential rent' and the legal regulated rent is higher. I assumed stabilized meant my increase was basically locked to the board percentage, so why is the legal rent different?

Now the renewal packet includes another preferential rent addendum to sign. Can the landlord take away the discount later if I sign it? Do I even need to sign the addendum if I'm already signing the renewal? I don't want to mess this up.

Good question. Under rent stabilization, there are two numbers: the legal regulated rent the owner registers, and the preferential rent you actually pay. A landlord can charge less than the legal rent, but cannot use the legal rent as the jump point while you remain in the apartment. Since the Rent Act of 2019, a preferential rent doesn't expire at renewal. The renewal increase is calculated on your existing preferential rent, with the same RGB percentage as stabilized leases, and the landlord can't revoke the discount just because you sign a new lease or addendum.

I've had a preferential rider for years. My lease lists a legal rent higher than my rent, but every renewal starts from the preferential amount. The rider mostly protects the landlord by making clear the legal rent is still on file. If the addendum says the preferential rent can be revoked at 'expiration' or only for 'one year,' I'd push back or ask for the rider to state it continues for the duration of your tenancy. You don't have to accept a clause that contradicts the Rent Stabilization Code.

Caveat: I'm not a lawyer, and older riders sometimes have language from before the law changed. Call DHCR or a tenant attorney if the rider has unusual conditions. Also get your rent registration history from DHCR, so you can see what legal rent was registered over time.

Wait, this is basically what I'm dealing with. My landlord said my unit is rent stabilized, but the rider says the legal rent is a lot higher than my 'preferential' rent. I was scared they'd raise it to the legal rent at renewal. So if I'm reading the reply right, while I stay in the apartment they can only increase from what I actually pay? Does that include the first renewal? I haven't hit one yet.

Yes!! The key is that the legal regulated rent isn't the same as what you actually pay. But have you pulled your DHCR Rent Registration History? That's the first thing I would do. If the legal rent jumps around weirdly—like it was registered way higher right before you moved in—you might have a reason to question the registration. The HSTPA also changed how preferential rent works: as long as you stay, the landlord can't yank it back to the legal rent at renewal. The rider cannot re-create vacancy decontrol. But you have to read the exact wording. Some of these addenda still say 'terminates at the end of the lease term,' which is just outdated garbage. Have you tried asking the management company for a corrected rider? I'd call DHCR and ask too. So many people don't check the registered legal rent!

Thanks astoria_arch and RiverdaleRambler. I feel a little less panicked. I just tried the DHCR rent history request through the portal — it asks for a bunch of building info, but I got a confirmation that my email request was submitted? I think. I'm going to compare it to the rider. The addendum does say the preferential rent 'may terminate at the expiration of the lease,' but maybe that's old language. If I cross that out and initial it, will the property manager reject the whole renewal?

Following because I'm in the same boat in Flatbush. I haven't returned my renewal yet. I was thinking of writing 'preferential rent shall continue for the duration of tenancy' on the rider before signing. But I don't know if they can just refuse and say I didn't accept the renewal? Has anyone had a landlord actually reject an annotated rider?