Q: I live in a rent-stabilized apartment in Brooklyn, and my landlord won’t accept checks. Tenants are charged a processing fee for every rent payment. If we pay with a bank transfer, we’re charged a $3 fee, and if we pay with a credit card, the fee is $10. There are no other ways to pay. Is this legal? Shouldn’t they have a way for us to pay just our rent, and no more? Why isn’t the landlord obligated to pay these fees?
A: The situation you describe is not legal.
Under New York state law, a landlord must allow you to pay your rent without incurring extra fees, regardless of whether you live in a rent-regulated or market-rate apartment. That includes fees for tenants who choose not to use an electronic payment system.
“A landlord cannot require a residential tenant to pay only through an electronic billing or payment system,” said Peter A. Schwartz, a partner who practices real estate law at Graubard Miller in New York.
The law further states that leases in which tenants waive their rights under this law are void.
The intent of the law is to ensure that people who don’t have access to computers or online bank accounts won’t be harassed, charged extra, or forced to leave their apartments, said Michelle Itkowitz, a real estate lawyer in Brooklyn and host of the Tenant Law podcast.
For rent-stabilized apartments specifically, state regulations prohibit owners from demanding more than the legally regulated rent. Even if these fees are a way for the landlord to recover his or her own cost to collect the rent, they could be considered a rent overcharge, Mr. Schwartz said.
If you think you’ve been overcharged, you can file a complaint with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, using form RA-89. These overcharges, if they are what the court deems “willful,” could lead to damages of three times the excess amount that you paid, plus interest on the overcharge.
If you’re successful, then your neighbors could be too, which would have a wide impact. “That may have a chilling effect on the landlord’s misguided policy,” Ms. Itkowitz said.
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