‘I was overcharged for years’: NYC woman hands out warning to rent stabilized tenants and ends up saving them thousands

If you’re renting an apartment basically anywhere in the world right now, we’re thinking of you. We don’t need to go into detail how bad the renting market is any more than we already have. And New York City, in particular, is experiencing record high rent prices across the entire city, leaving many residents struggling to make ends just to keep a roof over their heads.

While NYC, like many cities, does have rent stabilization practices in place, a new TikTok going around has shown that even these laws can’t protect you completely.

Originally posted by @openigloo_nyc, the video reviews why NYC renters should request their rental history from the state of New York. While she does explain that this may not help your individual case, a lot of renters in the city thought their lease was a “market value” lease, meaning it could be increased as much as the landlord wanted. However when they pulled their history, they realized their building was regulated and they were being overcharged by their landlord. One person she shares opened themselves up to a $60k refund in overpaid rent as a result.

TikTok user @thanks_management backs up Openigloo’s claims, sharing her own success story after pulling her rent history from the state. She shares that in December 2022, she signed a one-year lease for her 2-bed apartment, with a monthly rent of $1850. She also states that in the lease, it says her apartment is rent stabilized. So come November 2023, she was trying to figure out how to renew her lease for the apartment and did some digging. In her research, she found out rent stabilized tenants should get a lease renewal notice 3 months in advance, so they can see what rent increases are coming and compare getting a 1-year lease versus a 2-year lease.

Since she never received this information, Carla was doubting her apartment’s status as rent stabilized. So she went onto NY’s Division of Housing and Community Renewal website to request her rent history, as well as check the list of rent stabilized properties to see if her unit was included. She was able to confirm her apartment was officially rent stabilized. But a few days later, she received her rent history and found out her landlord was claiming to the DHCR that Carla was paying only $1295 a month in rent.

Immediately Carla phoned the DHCR to file a formal complaint, allowing her two options: Settle the dispute between herself and the landlord, or have the DHCR file a complaint, and most likely go to court over the issue. While the second option would allow Carla to collect damages in addition to the overpaid rent, she decided to handle the issue herself to avoid a court case. Carla then reached out to her landlord in an attempt to renew her lease, but in reality, wanted to confront him over the overcharged rent.

Not even an hour after her request, her landlord showed up at her place with the lease renewal paperwork. However, Carla handed him the DHCR paperwork to call him out on his overcharging. While her landlord wasn’t happy being caught red-handed, he appreciated her handing this amongst themselves instead. He repaid her the overcharged rent for the previous year, as well as the overcharged security deposit. In addition, Carla was able to sign a new 2-year lease for $1468 a month.

Everyone in the comments on both videos were grateful for the tip, as it allowed them to call out their own landlords for the overcharges. One commenter on Carla’s video said “GIRL YOU SAVED ME. I’m getting backpaid $4500 because I was overcharged for almost TWO YEARS.” Another recognized Carla’s strength handling it herself, saying “You’re a baddie for deciding to duke it out with the landlord. Love it.” Going back to OpenIgloo’s video, one commenter appreciated their help, saying “You’re doing the lord’s work.” Remember, landlords are not your friends, they’re business owners and their number one priority is always themselves.