How the estimate works
A rent overcharge is rent collected above the legal regulated rent. To find the legal rent, you start from a known, registered rent and add only the increases the law allowed since. The calculator does that walk for you:
- Start from the base-date legal rent: generally the rent on the most recent reliable registration filed six or more years before the most recent registration.
- For each lease, find the Rent Guidelines Board order for its start date and term, and apply that one guideline. Since the 2019 law, the same guideline applies to vacancy and renewal leases.
- Add any lawful MCI or IAI increase you enter for that lease. It carries into later leases.
- For every month inside the six-year lookback and before your filing date, overcharge = rent charged minus lawful maximum, if positive.
- Add the months up. The penalty is three times that total unless the owner proves the overcharge was neither willful nor negligent.
At a glance
- Lookback for recovery
- 6 years
- Before the complaint is filed (HSTPA 2019)
- Overcharge penalty
- 3× the overcharge
- Unless the owner proves it was neither willful nor negligent
- If the owner proves that
- Overcharge + interest
- HSTPA Part F; HCR Policy Statement 2020-1
- How to file
- Form RA-89
- Or online through HCR Rent Connect, or in court
Worked example (the default inputs)
You file on October 12, 2026. Your rent history shows a legal rent of $1,800 at the base date. You signed three two-year leases:
| Lease | Guideline | Lawful max | Charged | Overcharge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2020, 2 years | Order #52: 0%, then 1% | $1,800.00 → $1,818.00 | $1,800 | $0 |
| Nov 2022, 2 years | Order #54: 5% | $1,908.90 | $1,950 | $41.10 × 24 = $986.40 |
| Nov 2024, 2 years | Order #56: 5.25% | $2,009.12 | $2,150 | $140.88 × 24 = $3,381.12 |
The estimated overcharge is $4,367.52. With treble damages, the penalty would be about $13,103. If the owner proved the overcharge was neither willful nor negligent, it would be $4,367.52 plus interest. Your future rent would also be reset to the lawful amount.
What the estimate leaves out
- Older history: HCR or a court can consider rent history before the base date when reasonably necessary to set the legal rent, for example if the base-date rent itself was unreliable.
- Leases before October 2019 used different rules, including vacancy allowances. This tool's rate table starts with Order #51.
- Preferential rents: if you had a preferential rent, renewals must be based on it. Use the preferential rent calculator and enter the lawful amounts here.
- MCI and IAI increases must be lawful and documented. Enter only amounts HCR approved or the owner can support. See the IAI calculator.
- Interest on a non-willful overcharge is not calculated.
Next steps
- 1
Get your rent history
Request it from HCR online, by appointment at a borough rent office, or with form REC-1. See how to request your rent history. - 2
Gather your leases and proof of payment
Collect every lease, renewal and rent receipt or bank record from the lookback period. - 3
File the complaint
Use form RA-89 or Rent Connect. Read how to file a rent overcharge complaint first.