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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 renewing your benefit.

Your benefit expiration date depends on the type of apartment you have.

• Rent stabilized: expires when your lease does. If you have a 1-year lease, your benefits expire after the year; if you have a 2-year lease, they expire after the second year.
• Rent controlled apartment: expires on December 31st of every odd year, for example, December 31, 2017; December 31, 2019; and so on. DOF will mail you the renewal application in November.
• Hotel unit: expires on the expiration date on your demand or increase notice or lease.
• Mitchell Lama, Limited Dividend, Redevelopment, Section 213 co-op or HDFC co-op: expires one year from their effective date.

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.

You will need to submit a renewal application each time your benefit ends to remain in the Rent Freeze Program.

You can renew your SCRIE or DRIE benefit online via the Tenant Access Portal beginning 60 days before the expiration of your benefit.

If you are outside of this 60-day window or otherwise unable to apply online, you can submit a paper application.

Online

You can submit your application online through the New York City Tenant Access Portal (NYC TAP). NYC TAP allows tenants and their representatives to access and update important information related to the SCRIE or DRIE exemption.

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.

There are user guides for NYC TAP.

By Mail

You can get the application online or by mail.

Online

SCRIE

Download the SCRIE Application in , , , , , , , , , and .

DRIE

Download the DRIE Application in , , , , , , , , , and .

By Mail

If you have been previously approved for five or more consecutive benefit periods, you will be mailed a pre-filled Short Form Renewal Application to renew your benefit instead of the regular renewal application. If you received the Short Form, you can complete and submit it; you don't also need to submit the regular application.

Proof of income isn't required unless your household income increased by more than $1,000 since your last renewal application. All renewal applicants still need to provide rent information and lease documents for their apartment type.

If you misplaced the Short Form or if the pre-filled information on the form is incorrect, you can download the form online. If you submit a Short Form Renewal Application and don’t qualify to use it, DOF will contact you.

In addition to updated income information for all household members, attach a copy of your new lease that has been signed by you and your landlord to your application. For hotel units, provide your rent increase letter.

The documents necessary to prove your income and rent are the same as ones required for applying. The list is on the renewal application, or you can visit the Rent Freeze Program for Seniors page and Rent Freeze Program for Tenants with Disabilities page for information.

If you receive a Major Capital Improvement Order (MCI) from your landlord around the time your lease is ready for renewal, you can also include that with your renewal application and documents.

If you live in a rent-controlled apartment and your SCRIE or DRIE benefit has expired, but you have not received a new MBR or Fuel Cost Adjustment, you should submit your renewal application without those documents. If your application is approved, your landlord will not get an increase in the tax abatement credits until the new MBR or Fuel Cost Adjustment is received by DOF and an adjustment is completed.

You can get help completing a Rent Freeze application. Make sure to gather the required documents before meeting with or contacting an assistor.

To renew SCRIE or DRIE, complete a renewal application and submit it by mail or in person at a SCRIE or DRIE Walk-In Center. Your completed, signed application should include the required documents for your household income and apartment type.

The mailing address for applications and documents requested through pending notices depend on whether or not you have a barcode on the application.

Address for Applications With Barcodes 

Mail applications and Pending Notices along with the documentation requested to:

NYC Department of Finance
SCRIE/DRIE Unit
P.O. Box 3130
Union, NJ 07083

Address for Applications Without Barcodes

It may take up to 4 weeks from the mailing date for the application to be processed and its status to become available.

The Department of Finance (DOF) will review your application to determine your eligibility. Within 45 days, they will mail you a notice with the status of your application.

The status of your application could be approved, denied, or pending for additional information or documentation.

Approved Applications

If all necessary information has been received and your application has been approved, DOF will mail you an Approval Order.

DOF will also recalculate your frozen rent amount. 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.

The Approval Order includes:

• The frozen rent amount
• The amount your landlord will be credited (TAC)
• The exemption period and benefit end date

An Owner Approval Order with this same information will be sent to your landlord.

Pending Applications

If there’s anything missing in your application, you'll be mailed a Pending Notice which will list the additional information or documentation required.

Mail the Pending Notice along with the documentation requested to:

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

Revoked Applications

If upon renewal, you were found not to be eligible for the program anymore, DOF will send you a letter stating that your benefit has been revoked. You can appeal the revocation of your benefit. To learn more, go to the Rent Freeze Program Assistance page.

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.

Online

By Phone

When your SCRIE or DRIE expires, your landlord is required by law to grant you the benefits for an additional 6 months (180 days).

If you don’t renew your benefits during that time, they will be terminated and you will be responsible for paying your landlord back for the difference between your frozen rent amount and your legal rent amount for the 6-month grace period. That amount would be the difference between what you paid and the actual legal rent amount that was due for those months you were not actively in the program.

The Department of Finance sends Failure to Recertify (FTR) notices 90 days after the end of the lease to tenants whose benefits are being revoked because DOF did not receive the required renewal application and documents prior to the deadline. These notices are also sent to the tenants' representatives and landlords.

This notice indicates that in order to be eligible for reinstatement the tenant has an additional 90 days to submit:

• The enclosed completed renewal application
• Signed leases that cover the stated period in the notice
• Any future leases that the tenant has been given
• Proof of income for all household members during the benefit expiration period.

If you don’t renew 180 days after the lease end date, you will need to reapply as an initial applicant and repay the landlord that portion of the full legal rent that was not paid during the 6-month grace period.

If you were unable to renew due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) you may be able to get an additional 6 month extension.  Please submit your renewal application and any documentation you have as soon as possible and DOF will review on a case by case basis.

Online

By Phone

Online

By Phone