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Council advances Rent Transparency Act to require rent‑stabilization signage in buildings
Summary
Intro 10-37A would require owners of multiple dwellings with rent-stabilized units to post notices in common areas directing tenants to the New York State Homes and Community Renewal site and warning of landlord fines for failing to register units. Sponsors said the bill aims to reduce illegal overcharges and help tenants determine lawful rent.
The City Council on May 28 considered Intro 10-37A, the Rent Transparency Act, which would require common-area signage in buildings with rent-stabilized units to inform tenants how to check unit status with the New York State Division of Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR) and to warn landlords about penalties for failing to register units.
Council Member Sandy Nurse, sponsor of the bill, said the signage requirement would help tenants determine their legal rent and push back on landlords who avoid registration or illegally overcharge. “Many tenants living in rent stabilized units don't know how to determine their legal rent,” Nurse said, and she cited an increase in rent overcharge complaints — from roughly 500 annually a few years ago to over 900 last year — as reason to act.
The committee report placed Intro 10-37A on the general orders calendar (amended and coupled); the transcript shows the general orders calendar was adopted later in the meeting. Nurse thanked housing legal services providers and staff who worked on the bill.
The bill calls for signage that directs tenants to the DHCR website for rental history requests and makes clear that noncompliant landlords may face fines. The transcript does not record specific enforcement mechanisms, penalty amounts, or agency implementation timetables.
