NYC rent stabilization — the legal rent, audited step by step
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.
Roughly a million New York City apartments are rent stabilized, and each one carries a legal regulated rent that is the product of every lease since its base date: a Rent Guidelines Board increase on each renewal, the rules for a vacancy, improvements inside the apartment, improvements to the building, preferential rents, and a registration with DHCR every year. Get one link wrong and every rent after it is wrong too — and an overcharge is collectible for six years, trebled if it was willful.
Rent regulation in Seayora is that chain, kept for you. You record the leases and the registrations; Seayora applies the order that governed each lease, in order, and shows you the arithmetic for every step.
What it does, and what it never does
| Audits the legal rent | Lease by lease from the base date, with the order, the percentage and the allowed rent for each, and a finding wherever the recorded rent is more than the law explains. |
| Estimates exposure | What may have been collected above the lawful rent since the base date — an estimate, before interest, and before treble damages if an overcharge is found willful. |
| Tracks registration | Each year's DHCR registration (due July 31, as of April 1), with a reminder in July for every unit not recorded as filed. |
| Prepares the renewal | The window to offer it (150 to 90 days before the lease ends), the one- and two-year rents under the order that will govern it, and the riders that must go with it. |
| Good Cause and the FARE Act | Which of your NYC units the Good Cause law covers and the highest presumptively reasonable rent; and an itemized fee disclosure, checked fee by fee, that the tenant signs before the lease. |
| Never files | Seayora does not file with DHCR, serve a tenant, or decide an overcharge. Registration is filed by you in DHCR's own system; Seayora records that you did. |
Computed from the Rent Guidelines Board orders, statutes and DHCR guidance Seayora has on file, each cited and dated, and from the records entered here — not legal advice. A figure Seayora has not verified is named and not shown. DHCR's own rent history is the record of what was registered; confirm with a lawyer or DHCR before charging, offering or registering a rent.
Starting
- Open Rent regulation (under Obligations on the website, and in Tools on both phones) and put a unit on the register. Start with its status — stabilized, deregulated, exempt or rent controlled. The audit runs only on a stabilized unit.
- Add its building, if it is in one you have recorded: the number of apartments decides the improvement caps, and the share that is regulated decides whether an MCI is allowed at all.
- Record each lease since the base date in Rent history — vacancy or renewal, the start and end, the legal rent and the rent charged. Six years back is enough for an overcharge; DHCR's rent history for the apartment is where the older figures come from.
- Record each year's registration as you file it.
Not sure a unit is stabilized? The coverage screen on a unit reads what is recorded — the year the building was built, how many apartments it has, its tax benefits — and says whether it is likely, possible or unlikely, with the reasons. It is a screen, not a determination; DHCR and the courts decide coverage.
Every figure is cited, and an unverified one is not shown
The orders and rules the engine applies are data, not code: each carries its citation, its source and the date Seayora verified it, and they are listed under The law. A rule Seayora has not verified is named and no figure is computed from it — a confident wrong number is worse than an admitted gap on a screen somebody signs a lease from.
Frequently asked questions
Does Seayora file my DHCR registration?
No. Registration is filed in DHCR's own system by you or your agent. Seayora records each year's registration — the rent, the occupancy on April 1, when it was filed and when the tenant got their copy — and reminds you in July about every unit not recorded as filed.
Is the legal rent Seayora shows the official one?
No — DHCR's registered rent history is the official record. Seayora works the legal rent out from the leases you record and the law, and shows each step so you can check it. Where the two disagree, find out why before charging, offering or registering a rent.
How far back do I need to record leases?
Six years covers the overcharge review period after the HSTPA of 2019. Earlier leases help when a rent was set by an earlier event, such as an improvement, but the audit starts from the first lease you record and says that it is the starting point.
What happens when a figure is not verified?
It is named and not shown. A renewal governed by an order Seayora has not verified shows no rent; a Good Cause standard not verified shows no cap. The page says what is missing rather than guessing.
Related guides
- How the legal-rent audit works — the orders, the steps and the findings
- DHCR registration, renewal offers and the riders every lease needs
- Good Cause Eviction in New York City — coverage, the local rent standard and the notice
- The FARE Act fee disclosure — every fee itemized, checked and signed before the lease
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.
- DHCR registration, renewal offers and the riders every lease needs — Documentation. The annual registration, the 150-to-90-day renewal window, the rents the next order allows, and the riders and notices a stabilized lease must carry — with each one's law.
- Good Cause Eviction in New York City — coverage, the local rent standard and the notice — Documentation. Which of your NYC units the Good Cause Eviction law covers, the exemptions and how each is decided, the highest presumptively reasonable rent increase, and the § 231-c notice every lease and renewal must carry.
- Compliance Alerts & Required Filings — Feature. Seayora watches your properties for new violations and works out which recurring filings each building owes, turns both into a dated checklist, and emails you when something new appears. Live violation data for New York City; rule-based filing obligations across the NYC metro.
- Property Management Accounting — Feature. A full chart of accounts and general ledger purpose-built for rentals — income and expenses tracked to the unit, with rent, fees, and maintenance posting automatically.
- Lease Renewals & Amendments — Feature. Handle renewals, rent increases, and amendments against the original lease, with the right notices and a clean signed record of every change.