Apartment improvements (IAI) and major capital improvements (MCI)
What work inside an apartment, and work on the building, can add to a stabilized rent — the caps, the divisors, the paperwork DHCR requires, and why an IAI with no RN-19N on file adds nothing.
Individual apartment improvements
An IAI adds a fraction of its documented cost to the legal rent. Which fraction, how much cost counts and whether the increase is permanent all depend on when the work was finished:
| Work completed | What it adds | Law |
|---|---|---|
| September 24, 2011 – June 13, 2019 | A permanent increase of 1/40th of the cost (35 or fewer apartments) or 1/60th (more than 35). No cost cap. | Rent Stabilization Law § 26-511(c)(13) as in effect before the HSTPA of 2019; DHCR Operational Bulletin 2024-2, footnote 1 |
| June 14, 2019 – October 16, 2024 | A TEMPORARY increase of 1/168th of the cost (35 or fewer apartments) or 1/180th (more than 35), on no more than $15,000 and no more than three IAIs in any 15 years; removed 30 years after it took effect. | Rent Stabilization Law § 26-511(c)(13) as amended by the HSTPA of 2019 (L. 2019, ch. 36); DHCR Operational Bulletin 2024-2 §§ II, IV.A |
| October 17, 2024 – open-ended | A PERMANENT increase of 1/168th of the cost (35 or fewer apartments) or 1/180th (more than 35), on no more than $30,000 in 15 years (less whatever was recovered since June 14, 2019). Before-and-after photos and the RN-19N notification are required, and the tenant's RN-19C consent for an occupied apartment. | Rent Stabilization Law § 26-511(c)(13) as amended by L. 2024 (effective October 17, 2024); DHCR Operational Bulletin 2024-2 §§ II, III, IV |
| October 17, 2024 – open-ended | A PERMANENT increase of 1/144th of the cost (35 or fewer apartments) or 1/156th (more than 35), on up to $50,000, only in a vacant apartment that was timely registered vacant for 2022, 2023 and 2024, or during a vacancy after at least 25 years of continuous occupancy. DHCR must first certify eligibility, the work is notified before and after, and a 1% fee is paid. | Rent Stabilization Law § 26-511(c)(13) as amended by L. 2024 (effective October 17, 2024); DHCR Operational Bulletin 2024-2 § III (Second Tier, Steps 1–3) |
Only documented cost counts — invoices, cancelled checks and contracts. Work done in an occupied apartment needs the tenant's written consent (DHCR form RN-19C), and from October 17, 2024 every IAI needs DHCR form RN-19N filed with before-and-after photos; until it is filed the increase is not recoverable, and Seayora shows it as adding nothing. Related-party work needs DHCR's separate cost substantiation, and hazardous violations in the apartment must be cleared first.
Major capital improvements
Amortized over 144 months (35 or fewer units) or 150 months (more than 35), divided per room; collectible only after a DHCR order, from the first day of the month following 60 days after it is mailed; capped at 2% of the rent-roll-date rent in any 12 months, the excess carried forward; removed 30 years after it took effect; prohibited where 35% or fewer of the units are rent regulated.
An MCI is approved by DHCR order. The increase starts on the first of the month 60 days after the order is mailed, is collected at no more than 2% of the rent-roll rent a year, and comes off after 30 years. An MCI is barred in a building where 35% or fewer of the apartments are regulated. Record the order on its building and every unit in it carries the surcharge in its audit.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my IAI add $0?
Most often because the RN-19N has not been recorded as filed — from October 17, 2024 an IAI is not recoverable until it is. Otherwise the audit names what is missing: documented cost, the tenant's consent, or the cap.
Can I charge an MCI increase before the order arrives?
No. The increase starts from the date the DHCR order sets — the first of the month 60 days after it is mailed — and a pending application adds nothing.
Related guides
- How the legal-rent audit works — the orders, the steps and the findings
- NYC rent stabilization — the legal rent, audited step by step
Related features and guides
- How the legal-rent audit works — the orders, the steps and the findings — Documentation. Each lease in a stabilized unit's history is checked against the Rent Guidelines Board order that governed it, in order, from the base date. The guideline compounds on the rent the previous step produced, preferential rents follow the 2019 rules, and every gap becomes a finding with its law.
- NYC rent stabilization — the legal rent, audited step by step — Documentation. Seayora keeps each rent-stabilized unit's rent history, works its legal regulated rent out lease by lease from the Rent Guidelines Board orders and the law, tracks DHCR registration and renewals, and flags what does not add up — with the citation beside every figure. It never files anything with DHCR.
- For residents: your apartment's rent stabilization — Documentation. If your landlord has recorded your apartment as rent stabilized, My Home shows its legal regulated rent, the rent you pay, the years it was registered with DHCR and your rights — and where to check all of it yourself.
- Private In-App Voice Calls — Feature. Voice and video calls that run inside Seayora between two accounts — no telephone number is used on either side, so landlords, tenants and service pros talk without exchanging personal contact details.
- In-App Video Calls — Feature. Start a video call from any Seayora conversation, or upgrade a voice call to video mid-conversation. Run remote showings, walk a contractor through a repair, and schedule video meetings on the shared calendar — no personal number, no third-party meeting app.
- Job Costing — Feature. Track labor, materials, and vendor costs against each work order or capital project, so you know real margin per job instead of guessing.