February 4, 2019
"NYS Rent Connect" Simplifies and Modernizes Interaction with the Office of Rent Administration for Rent-Stabilized and Rent-Controlled Tenants and Building Owners
Monday, February 4, 2019
New York State today announced the launch of NYS Rent Connect, a new online service that modernizes and simplifies New Yorkers' interaction with the rent regulation system. NYS Rent Connect provides quick access to forms and information for tenants and building owners of rent-stabilized and rent-controlled apartments and buildings in New York City, Nassau, Westchester and Rockland Counties. NYS Rent Connect can be accessed here.
"Rent-regulated and rent-controlled housing is critical to ensuring middle class families have an affordable place to call home, and too often the process for interacting with this system is confusing and cumbersome for tenants," former Governor Cuomo said. "By providing tenants and owners with this important new resource, we can better protect our rent-regulated housing stock and the families who rely on it."
"This new online service will make it easier for New Yorkers in rent-controlled apartments to access essential information," said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. "We want to make sure individuals are provided with an easy-to-use tool like NYS Rent Connect to get their questions quickly and efficiently answered."
The launch of NYS Rent Connect complements New York State's landmark $20 billion, five-year statewide plan to create and preserve more than 100,000 affordable housing and 6,000 supportive housing units. Under former Governor Cuomo's leadership, New York State enacted the greatest expansion of rent regulations in four decades. NYS Rent Connect will help preserve rent regulated housing stock by expanding online information and services to tenants and building owners.
NYS Rent Connect includes the new NYS Rent Connect Assistant, a self-help wizard for tenants, owners and their representatives to obtain records, find current rent increase information, access forms and find general information including answers to questions.
Through NYS Rent Connect, tenants, owners, and their representatives can complete and submit applications online, including those for rent overcharge complaints, complaints related to a decrease in services, High Rent Decontrol, and Owner Restoration. The new web portal also enables tenants and owners to attach evidence to their applications. They can also respond to open Major Capital Improvement cases online and estimate the impact of a Major Capital Improvement increase on the monthly rent using NYS Rent Connect online tool called the MCI Payment Estimator.
Previously, these applications could only be accessed in hard copy through HCR's Office of Rent Administration. NYS Rent Connect builds on previous efforts that enabled filing certain forms online, including owners' annual registration of rent-regulated apartments.
Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said,"NYS Rent Connect is an innovative tool that makes it easier for tenants and owners to interact with the Office of Rent Administration and understand their rights."
New York State Chief Information Officer Robert H. Samson said, "The Office of Information Technology Services is pleased to partner with Homes and Community Renewal to fully develop and implement technology that makes it easier for tenants and building owners across New York State. Here in New York, we are harnessing the power of technology to deliver innovation that matters for all New Yorkers, and Rent Connect is the latest example of this."
About New York State Homes and Community Renewal:
New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) works to create, preserve and improve affordable homes, and to develop vibrant communities. HCR is executing New York State's unprecedented $20 billion, five-year Housing Plan, which is making housing accessible and combating homelessness by building and preserving more than 100,000 units of affordable housing and 6,000 supportive apartments. The plan is a comprehensive approach to statewide housing issues, and includes investing in multifamily and single-family housing, furthering community development strategies, and preserving rent stabilization. Find more information on HCR, its programs and its initiatives here.
About ITS
The New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) was created in 2012 to transform IT services in an effort to make New York State government work smarter for its citizens and enable the state to be accessible for businesses through the use of technology. ITS provides statewide IT strategic direction, directs IT policy and delivers centralized IT products and services that support the mission of the State. ITS operates data centers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to support statewide mission-critical applications for over 50 Agencies, over 17 million citizen accounts, 120,000 employee accounts, 60,000 phones, 99,000 desktops and laptops, and 3,433 Virtual Desktop remote connections. ITS operates a secure network of over 1,600 miles of fiber to deliver telecommunications, Internet and Intranet services, enterprise email systems and support, IT training, networking, data storage and processing to State government entities in addition to developing new services in support of citizens, businesses and State Agencies.
For more information, visit https://its.ny.gov and follow us on Twitter @nysits.