A landlord may charge a reasonable amount of additional rent for a new housing service agreed to by the tenant, such as parking or storage. If there is any doubt as to whether a rent increase is permitted, the landlord may file a landlord petition based on “other” ground with the Rent Board to obtain a determination for the additional rent.
The parties are free to negotiate the initial amount of the additional rent. The landlord need not wait until the tenant’s anniversary date to increase the rent for an additional housing service, nor will such an increase change the tenant’s anniversary date. However, the additional rent, even if paid separately, then becomes part of the tenant’s base rent and is subject to the rent increase limitations of the Rent Ordinance.
To obtain a copy of the petition form, you can visit the Forms Center on our website. This document is also available at our office.
June 2019
Tags: Topic 255