Failing to List Improvements on Annual Apartment Registration

Q If I made improvements to a rent-stabilized apartment that qualify for a 1/40th rent increase, but I don't list those improvements on the annual rent registrations that I file with the DHCR, will I be disqualified from collecting the rent increase for them?

A No, according to a DHCR ruling. In the case, a tenant claimed that she had been overcharged because the owner collected a 1/40th rent increase for various apartment improvements made before she moved in, many of which were not listed on the annual rent registration the owner had filed with the DHCR. The tenant argued that the owner was entitled to collect a rent increase for only those improvements that were listed.

The DHCR disagreed. It ruled that as long as the owner could prove that he made the improvements and how much the improvements cost, he could collect the rent increase for them, even though they were not listed on the rent registration [Lichter, March 2002].