So here are the questions that come up time and again, “What documents do I have to show when renting an apartment” “Is there a list of required rental documents?” “Is there a list of documents that are not required?”
Required Rental Documents?
Question 1: Do you have to show a photo ID to rent an apartment in New York?
Question 2: Do you have to show your passport or other government papers?
Both of these questions ask about showing identification. In New York, you do not have to show identification. You do not have to allow a copy of your ID to be made.
Showing ID
I have dealt with real estate and management companies that have requested this from my customers. This is a means of verifying the identity of my customer. Customers don’t seem to mind this. Even though I tell them in advance they do not have to do it.
If a customer chooses to show ID I don’t interfere. Having the ID copied and attached to a rental application violates Fair Housing Laws. Now I interfere.
Note: There is an exception to copying the ID. Management companies have done this after the rental is complete. The photo is attached to the customer’s file. These are the documents amassed during the screening process. This ensures that the person in the photo is the legal resident of the apartment. This does not seem to violate any laws at this time.
The Reason They Keep The Photo
Should the owner change management companies that company has to surrender all files. The new company has no way of knowing who the tenants are. The files are used to identify rightful tenants living in the building. Just in case someone has illegally sublet the apartment. Or so I’ve been told.
Fair Housing Violation
Placing a person’s ID on an application violates is discrimination because of race. An owner’s perception of you can be swayed by your photo. Upon seeing your photo an owner could decide that they do not want you because of your race. The same applies to passport photos. An owner could discriminate based on national origin.
Let me stop there. I am not a lawyer. So don’t hold me to what you just read. Instead, read the following official NYC publication on Fair Housing In NYC.
This publication should answer a lot of your questions about the required documents in apartment rentals. Consider it part of your due diligence.
Disclaimer and Acknowledgment
The following is not a publication of this company and no rights are claimed.
All rights belong to NYC.gov.
To see the actual publication and download the pdf just click on the link provided in the document.
Reminder: Make sure to check the FAIR HOUSING laws in your state and or city. I.e New York has additions to the Federal Fair Housing Law that exceed the federal standard.
The following is taken from the pdf. It is presented here as it is in the pdf.
Fair Housing In NYC PDF
Fair Housing NYC – Fair Housing & Tenant Rights 10/15/14 12:30 PM
Update: This page no longer exists. Surprisingly, a search for documentation from New York on required rental documents turned up nothing. Too bad it was a really good piece of information. Oh well, the information here is still useful. You may have to double-check phone numbers etc but it will get you pointed in the right direction.
All is not lost, the following web pages are good starting points for tenant’s rights. Information on tenants rights can be found at these web pages:
NYC.Gov
Use this site as a starting point to locate information about tenant rights, responsibilities, and more. Click on the link below to get started.
Note: This site is updated from time to time. If the link does not work then use the search function to find what you are looking for. I used “renters need to know” for this search. Renters Need To Know
FAIR HOUSING & TENANT RIGHTS
Some people confuse fair housing rights with tenant’s rights. If you experience difficulties with your application, lease, lease renewal, services, or rent that you believe is the result of a discriminatory act (occurring because of your membership in a particular protected class [e.g., race, creed, national origin]), please refer to Fair Housing Protects You and contact the NYC Commission on Human Rights at 311.
However, when problems or misunderstandings between a tenant and the building owner, building superintendent, or Management Company are not the results of a discriminatory act (occurring because of your membership in a particular protected class [e.g., race, creed, national origin]), many other Tenant Rights resources are available to you. In general, Tenant Rights deal with landlord obligations, such as the Warranty of Habitability, rent payments, and lease renewals.
Some examples where tenant issues may become Fair Housing issues:
A landlord requires a greater security deposit from an applicant with children or a disability than from an applicant who is childless or not disabled.
Tenants allege that they are refused repairs because of their national origin, while tenants with a different ancestry receive repairs.
A landlord refuses to permit a resident with a disability to have a service or emotional support animal because it would violate the “no-pet” clause in the lease; the landlord is obligated to provide a reasonable accommodation (providing it doesn’t cause an undue hardship), which would result in waiving this provision in the lease.
Some examples where tenant issues do not involve a fair housing violation:
The landlord does not provide heat in an ethnically diverse building; everyone is treated the same because heat is a building-wide service.
The superintendent requires “key” money from all applicants. This practice is not discriminatory, although it does violate other state laws.
The landlord refuses to paint a disabled tenant’s apartment, as well as the apartments of her non-disabled neighbors; her disability is not a factor in his refusal.
Tenant Selection
When the landlord, broker, or owner screens you during your application process, you should carefully distinguish between legitimate questions about you and discriminatory ones that violate fair housing law.
Housing providers have a right to set financial and credit qualifications, a process that provides some assurance that the applicant will be a good tenant.
Qualifications and inquiries must be applied equally to all applicants and must not be influenced by race, national origin or other protected factors.
Screening may include credit checks, work, and landlord references, personal references, number of people who will live in the unit, criminal background checks including the sex offender registry, home visits, and interviews. Whatever qualifying screening criteria a landlord uses, he or she should apply them equally to all applicants.
The Human Rights Law generally prohibits housing providers from asking direct or indirect questions that may reveal a person’s protected class. However, inquiries designed to qualify you for housing for senior citizens or people with disabilities are permissible.
Examples of inquiries that may be evidence of discrimination include:
Do you have a disability?
What is your religion?
How old are you?
Where were you born?
Are you gay?
Are you married?
What is your race?
Additional examples of inquiries that may be evidence of discrimination include:
Requiring you to submit medical documentation (unless you request an accommodation for a disability);
Requiring a marriage certificate;
Requiring a passport, birth certificate, or any document that reveals your age, race, national origin, or alienage/citizenship status; and,
Requiring your picture with your application. You can be asked to provide I.D. but this requirement must be applied consistently to all applicants and should not be restricted to a particular form of identification(e.g., a driver license).
These types of questions could be evidence of a fair housing violation and when in doubt, you should call the NYC Human Rights Commission and discuss your situation.
For resolving tenant complaints that do not involve a Fair Housing violation:
Tenants living in an HPD-owned building who have complaints about the maintenance of their apartment should call 311.
Tenants with maintenance complaints about apartments in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings should go to their management office and fill out a work ticket.
Tenants in rent-controlled or rent-stabilized apartments may contact the NYS Division of Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR) Office of Rent Administration. DHCR may impose penalties on building owners in the form of rent reductions if a tenant’s problems are valid.
When filing complaints at DHCR you must file the appropriate DHCR form. All tenant forms can be found at http://nysdhcr.gov/Forms/Rent/#tenant (Note: This link is broken)
I have not been able to locate another source of forms.
The following information may have changed by the time you read this. But it should be a good starting point for you. Where possible, links and other information have been updated. However, you should use due diligence to verify the information before using it.
Bronx Borough Rent Office
2400 Halsey Street
1st Floor
Bronx, New York 10461
Phone: 718-430-0880
Brooklyn Borough Rent Office
55 Hanson Place, Room 702
Brooklyn, New York 11217
Phone: 718-722-4778
Queens Rent Office
Gertz Plaza
92-31 Union Hall Street
Jamaica, New York 11433
Phone: 718-739-6400
Lower Manhattan Borough Rent Office
25 Beaver Street, 5th Floor
New York, New York 10004
Phone: 212-480-6238
Fair Housing NYC – Fair Housing & Tenant Rights 10/15/14 12:30 PM
Rent Info Line: 718-739-6400
Assistance available in multiple languages
Email addresses for information regarding rent-regulated apartments.
General information and Questions: [email protected]
Owner/Tenant (rent-stabilized or rent control) matters: [email protected]
For answers to these and other common tenant rights search NYC.Gov for answers. Use the search function to locate the answers you seek.
I have no heat or hot water in my apartment. What can I do?
My landlord refuses to make repairs to my apartment. What can I do?
Can my landlord enter my apartment at any time?
I received a notice from my landlord. What should I do?
Can I share my apartment with a roommate?
My landlord raised my rent. I think it is too high. What can I do?
Am I entitled to have my apartment painted?
The landlord says that a carbon monoxide detecting device must be installed in my apartment and that I must pay for it.
I am supposed to get my security deposit back, right?
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I hope the preceding was of help to you. One last item, some agencies, and management companies like to impose fees when you apply for a rental. Done correctly this is not a problem, however, do you know what that procedure is and your rights? If not then you should read the articles on rental application fees. Starting with The Rental Application Fee then on to Proper and Improper use of the rental application fee
Disclaimer
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and nothing stated here is legal advice. This article applies to the five boroughs of New York. All information deemed accurate but not guaranteed. Always check the real estate laws in your part of the country.
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