Rent Freeze Program Assistance

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) administers their own SCRIE program for Mitchell-Lama residents and Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) cooperative shareholders. If you are a Mitchell-Lama or HDFC tenant, you should contact HPD for help with SCRIE.

If you need more time to submit an application or document or meet any other Rent Freeze program deadline because of a disability or physical or mental impairment, you may be eligible for an extension of time as a reasonable accommodation for such disability.

You may be eligible if you need more time to:

• Apply or renew SCRIE or DRIE
• Appeal the denial or termination of benefits
• Apply for a benefit takeover after the primary tenant has moved or died

To request more time, you must complete and submit the Request for an Extension of Time form and include copies of any relevant medical documents.

Mail the form with supporting medical documentation to:

NYC Department of Finance
Attention: Rent Freeze Program
P.O. Box 3179
Union, NJ 07083

If you have any questions or need further assistance, contact the Department of Finance Disability Services Facilitator. Learn more on the Disability Access page.

Online

Download the SCRIE and DRIE Extension of Time Request Form.

By Mail

If you applied to the Rent Freeze Program and believe that you were wrongly denied benefits, or if you are a current participant in the program and believe that your benefits were wrongly revoked, you can appeal.

Along with a completed appeal application, you must include evidence to support the reason for your appeal.

Until your appeal is decided, you may continue to pay the rent listed in the most recently-issued Approval Order. Landlords must comply with the order and collect only that amount.

Submit the application and documents by mail or at a SCRIE and DRIE Walk-In Center. DOF will respond in 30 days.

By Mail

When a Rent Freeze application is approved or renewed, both the building owner or landlord and the tenant will receive an Approval Order which will provide details about what the tenant is responsible for paying, the amount of the Tax Abatement Credit (TAC), and the exemption period. The order will also include the SCRIE or DRIE docket number. Make sure to keep the number for future reference.

The Approval Order includes:

• The frozen rent amount
• The amount your landlord will be credited
• The benefit start date and end date

You can request a copy of an Approval Order.

Permanent Loss of Income

If you have experienced a permanent loss of 20% or more of the combined household income that you reported in your last approved Rent Freeze application, you may apply for a redetermination of your frozen rent.

To have your frozen rent reduced in a redetermination of your benefit, you must:

• Be listed as the SCRIE or DRIE primary tenant,
• Submit the SCRIE or DRIE Redetermination Application,
• Provide proof that you have sustained a loss of 20% or more of your combined household income as reported in your last approved SCRIE or DRIE application due to the death or permanent move to a nursing home of a household member or because a household member has permanently left the household,
• Provide a death certificate or a letter from a nursing home indicating the move is permanent, or
• Provide proof of legal separation or divorce, or an affidavit stating that the household member has permanently moved or left the household, along with proof of residency for any household member who has moved or left the household (i.e. lease, State ID, or utility bill with the new address).

A non-primary tenant who has been listed as a household member and who is applying for a redetermination must also submit a Benefit Takeover Application if the primary SCRIE or DRIE tenant has passed away or moved permanently to a nursing home.

Online

Download the SCRIE Redetermination Application.

Download the DRIE Redetermination Application.

By Mail

When a primary Rent Freeze tenant moves or passes away, the Department of Finance (DOF) needs to be notified so the benefit can be removed or transferred to another apartment or household member.

Remove Benefit

You need to complete a Rent Freeze Program Change Form and submit to the Rent Freeze Program along with any supporting documentation for the following changes:

• The primary tenant has moved.
• The primary tenant has vacated the apartment due to a fire or renovation.
• The primary tenant is deceased or has moved permanently to a nursing home.
• Request to discontinue Rent Freeze Benefit.
• Add or remove an additional household member living in the apartment.

To end a SCRIE or DRIE benefit (Rent Freeze benefit) because of a death, a member of the family or the landlord must notify DOF by sending a completed a Rent Freeze Program Change Form along with a copy of the death certificate to the Rent Freeze Program. The benefit will be revoked as of the first day of the month following the date of the death, and any tax abatement credits issued after the death will be debited back to DOF.

If you're the primary Rent Freeze tenant and have permanently moved, you must notify DOF by sending a completed Rent Freeze Program Change Form to the Rent Freeze Program along with a statement clearly indicating the date of the move. If you plan to move in the near future, you must state the date that you are leaving the apartment.

You should mail your completed Rent Freeze Change Form and supporting documents to the mailing address on the form.

By Mail

Landlords can raise the legal rent in accordance with guidelines put out by the New York City Rent Guidelines Board, Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) or Division of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR).

They must issue valid, current leases to all rent-stabilized tenants, or valid, current HCR-issued rental orders to all rent-controlled tenants. For DRIE Mitchell-Lama tenants, landlords are required to provide a letter specifying the start date and the amount of the rent increase.

Recalculating Frozen Rent Amount

If you applied to and were approved for the Rent Freeze program as a new applicant after July 1, 2015, your renewal application is subject to a 1/3 income eligibility check. When you renew, DOF will recalculate your benefit based on your household income and legal rent to make sure the frozen rent amount is 1/3 of your income.

If:

• 1/3 of your monthly household income is less than your frozen rent, then your rent will remain the same.
• 1/3 of your monthly household income is greater than your frozen rent, then your frozen rent will be recalculated so it is equal to 1/3 of your monthly household income.
• 1/3 of your monthly income is greater than your legal rent (before benefits are applied), then you are no longer eligible for the SCRIE or DRIE benefit.

Rent Increase and Lease Issues

You can get help from the New York State Division of Homes and Community Renewal with rent or lease renewal problems, including if:

• If it’s been fewer than 180 days since your lease expired but your rent has been increased, or
• You have legal actions such as eviction, or
• Your landlord is charging the full rental amount because the 180-day grace period for renewing your benefit has elapsed

In general, tenants in rent-stabilized apartments must be offered renewal leases for one or two years.

An owner can refuse to renew a lease for several reasons, including:

• The owner or a member of the owner's immediate family needs the apartment for their personal use and primary residence
• The apartment is not used as the tenant's primary residence
• The owner wants to take the apartment off the rental market, either to demolish the building for reconstruction or to use it for other purposes permitted by law

However, when the owner doesn’t offer the tenant a renewal lease for one of these reasons, the owner must give the tenant written notice of non-renewal by mail or personal delivery 90 to 150 days before the existing lease expires.

You can learn more about the laws for rent stabilized and rent controlled apartments and how to contact HCR for more assistance on the Rent Regulated Apartments page.

The New York City Tenant Access Portal (NYC TAP) allows tenants and their representatives to access and update important information related to the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) and the Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE), collectively known as the Rent Freeze Program.

Opening a NYC TAP account is optional. If you do not open an account, your Rent Freeze benefit will not be affected.

The Department of Finance is rolling out NYC TAP in phases. Currently, tenants who are enrolled in the program, and their representatives on file, can:

• Apply for the Rent Freeze Program online (first-time applicants only)
• View their application status
• View benefit amounts
• View benefit expiration dates
• View their online applications
• View and download tax abatement credit (TAC) reports
• View notices sent
• Check the status of documents
• Check the status of appeals
• View missing documentation requests for pending applications
• Update contact phone numbers and email addresses

Registration

You must log in to NYC.ID to access NYC TAP. If you have an existing NYC.ID account you can use that to log in. If you do not have an NYC.ID account you can log in using one of the social media/email options or create an account.

Access the Tenant Access Portal (TAP).

Information on the registration process and using NYC TAP is available in users guides.

Download the Tenant Representative User Guide for current Rent Freeze recipients.

Download the Tenant Representative First Time Applicant Walk-Through.

Download the Tenant User Guide for current Rent Freeze recipients.

Download the Tenant First Time Applicant Walk-Through.

DOF updates SCRIE and DRIE tenant status reports on its website every week.

The report includes application status and information for current Rent Freeze Program participants and those active within the past year. It is organized by borough and docket number.

If you recently mailed an application, it may take up to 4 weeks from the mailing date for the application to be processed and for the status to be available.

Check your SCRIE status.

Check your DRIE status.

Landlords in the Rent Freeze Program receive a tax abatement credit (TAC) applied to their property tax bill in the same amount as the increase that the tenant is exempted from paying. The TAC is the difference between the preferential rent and the frozen rent amount that the program has calculated for the tenant to pay.

If you believe the amount of the Tax Abatement Credit (TAC) is incorrect, you can request an adjustment.

Reasons for TAC adjustments include:

• Maximum Collectible Rent (MCR) increase
• Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA)
• J-51 reduction
• Casado vs. Markus court action
• Rent discrepancy, such as a lease adjustment or preferential rent

You can get the application online or by mail.

The SCRIE and DRIE programs are identical. There’s no additional benefit to transfer from SCRIE to DRIE or from DRIE to SCRIE if you meet the eligibility criteria for both programs.

You can apply to transfer your benefits from the SCRIE program to the DRIE program if:

• You receive SCRIE and have a disability, or
• You're a surviving household member registered with SCRIE as a household member who qualifies for DRIE

 If you receive DRIE and are 62 or older, you can apply to transfer to the SCRIE program.

The application is available online, by mail, or in person.

If your SCRIE or DRIE record contains errors, or if your information or lease has changed, you can request an update.

You need to complete a Rent Freeze Program Change Form and submit to the Rent Freeze Program along with any supporting documentation for the following updates:

• Correct a misspelled name or wrong apartment number
• Add or change a name, phone number, or email address
• Add or change a tenant representative

You should mail your completed Rent Freeze Change Form and supporting documents to the mailing address on the form.

Online

Contact the SCRIE program.

Contact the DRIE program.

By Mail

Online

Contact the SCRIE program.

By Phone

Online

Contact the DRIE program.

By Phone

If you have contacted DOF to get an answer or solve a problem with a SCRIE or DRIE application or benefit but have not been able to get the information or solution you requested, you can speak to the SCRIE and DRIE Ombudspersons to see if there are any other options. Landlords may also contact them on behalf of their tenants, but the same requirements would apply.

If you meet one of the following categories you can contact the Ombudspersons even if you did not previously contact DOF:

• An application or benefit has been denied or revoked and the applicant (or tenant representative) would like assistance in understanding or appealing the denial or revocation; or
• The situation is extremely urgent (such as a tenant whose landlord is threatening to evict or has started eviction procedures).

The Ombudspersons do not handle routine status updates on applications or other documents submitted to SCRIE and DRIE (unless you have already tried to get this information from DOF and have not been able to). This includes:

• Questions about when you will receive a response from SCRIE/DRIE
• Requests for confirmation as to whether submitted documents have been received by SCRIE/DRIE
• Questions about whether your application is now complete

The Ombudspersons cannot:

• Provide copies of SCRIE or DRIE letters and notices, such as letters of approval or denial from SCRIE
• Assist SCRIE tenants who live in a Mitchell-Lama or Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) building (the Ombudspersons can only assist DRIE tenants in those buildings)

The SCRIE and DRIE Ombudspersons can be reached by phone or online. You are likely to get a faster response by submitting your inquiry online.