New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal Office of Rent Administration Apartment Registration Statements

Arranged by municipality and then alphabetical by street name.

The Federal Emergency Price Control Act of January 30, 1942 empowered the director of the Office of Price Administration (OPA) to establish such maximum rents for housing accommodations "as in his judgment will be generally fair and equitable and will effectuate the purposes of the Act" (Section 2b). Regulations were issued under which rents were stabilized by the maximum rent date (commonly known as the "freeze date") method of control. The freeze date in each case was that date when rents had already been increased above the normal level but had not yet reached what was considered an inflationary level. Landlords were required to register, with the various rent offices, the rents they received for their housing accommodations on the freeze date, which then became the maximum legal rents for these accommodations.

The Federal Emergency Price Control Act was extended from year to year and was administered, in turn, by the Office of Price Control, Office of Temporary Controls, and the Office of the Housing Expediter. As the war drew to a close, federal authorities began to decontrol defense-rental areas. By May 1, 1950, thirty counties or parts of counties in New York State had been decontrolled under federal directives.

Certain areas were designated as defense-rental areas and rent control regulations were declared to be in effect in these areas when the housing shortage, as a result of wartime activities, had upset the normal balance of economic relationship between landlord and tenant. On May 31, 1943, general rent regulations were issued for the entire nation in two parts, one for housing and one for hotels and rooming houses. Defense-rental areas in New York State were brought under federal rent control between June 1, 1942 and November 1, 1946. For the Westchester County defense-rental area, the maximum rent date was August 1, 1944 and the effective date of the regulation was November 1, 1944.

Anticipating such decontrol, the New York State legislature created, in 1945, a joint legislative committee to study rental and housing conditions in the state. Following the recommendations of the committee and because of the uncertainty surrounding the continuation of federal rent regulations, the state legislature, in 1950, passed the Emergency Housing Rent Control Law (Chapter 250 of the Laws of 1950). Under this law, federal and local rent control was replaced by state control effective May 1, 1956. The Temporary State Housing Commission was authorized to administer this act and was empowered to adopt rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of the act. These rules included the regulation of practices relating to the recovery of possession (Rent and Eviction Regulations) and the re-control of areas previously decontrolled by federal law.

In 1964 the functions and powers of the Temporary State Housing Rent Commission were transferred (Chapter 244 of the Laws of 1964) to the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, effective July 1, 1964. The division created an Office of Rent Administration that was responsible for reviewing regulations of the New York City Department of Rent and Housing Maintenance. The main office was situated in New York City, with local rent offices located in Albany, Buffalo, Hempstead, and White Plains. In 1971 the legislature amended the emergency Housing Rent Control Law and enacted a vacancy decontrol law (Chapter 374 of the Laws of 1971) which provided that any apartment presently under rent control would no longer be subject to such control if voluntarily vacated on or after July 1, 1971.

The series consists of apartment registration statements for municipalities in Westchester County for the years 1944-1981. These records were generated as a result of the passage of the Federal Emergency Price Control Act of January 30, 1942. The apartment registration statements contained in this series are for those municipalities that are no longer subject to regulation under the Emergency Housing Rent Control Law of 1950. It also includes those records which were decontrolled under provisions of the Village of Larchmont resolution of June 30, 1975, pursuant to the authority of Section 12-2 of the Emergency Housing Rent Control Law.

Most of the registration statements contained in this series are dated 1944 and consist of two types of forms issued by the U.S. Office of Price Administration (OPA). Form DD-U is for the registration of rental dwellings. Data include general instructions; maximum rent date; effective date of regulations; address of the rental unit; apartment number or location; number of rooms; total number of dwelling units in the structure; names and mailing addresses of the landlord and the tenant; amount of maximum rent (by week or month); list of equipment (furniture, running water, hot water, flush toilet, bathrooms, central heating, heating stove, refrigerator, electricity, and cooking stove) and services (garage, heater or heating fuel, cold and hot water, light, ice or refrigeration, janitor service, garbage disposal, painting and decorating, and interior and exterior repairs) that are available; and the signature of the landlord or agent.

Form DH-U is for the registration of hotels, rooming houses, boardinghouses, dormitories, auto camps, residence clubs, tourist homes, and cabins and trailer camps. This form contains data on the type of establishment; total number of rooms for rent; total number of occupants when fully rented; total number of bathrooms; inclusion or exclusion of meal policy; name and address of establishment; name and address of landlord; a list of maximum rents for rooms rented or offered for rent (by day, week, or month); and the date and signature of the landlord or agent.

With the take over of rent control by the state in 1950, use of the OPA forms was discontinued and state forms, containing virtually the same information as the OPA statements, were put into effect. In addition to the actual registration statements, the files also contain related data such as reports regarding the change of identity of landlords, orders determining facts or fixing maximum rents, orders denying applications or terminating proceedings for rent control, and landlord's reports of vacancy decontrol.

The vacancy decontrol report was required to be filed with the Local Rent Office within 30 days following the date of the first rental of such accommodations after decontrol. Each report contains address of apartment; name and mailing address of landlord; date of vacancy; maximum monthly rent in effect before vacancy; name of tenant prior to vacancy; name of new tenant and date of occupancy; current monthly rent; whether a written lease has been executed; and a list of improvements, additional services, or equipment supplied to the new tenant. The report also contains the date and signature of the landlord and is notarized. The reverse side of the form lists the pertinent regulation relating to vacancy decontrol and a notice of receipt, signed and dated by the Administrator of the Local Rent Office.

The records originate from old accession 82-15, series #1477.

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