How to Fill Out the SCRIE Application: Sections, Documents, and Submission

To fill out the SCRIE application, you complete the six-section initial application form issued by the NYC Department of Finance, attach proof of age, proof of income for every member of your household, and proof of rent, then submit the package online through the NYC Tenant Access Portal, by mail, or in person at a walk-in center. The form itself is straightforward once your documents are in order, so most of the work happens before you write anything down.

Confirm You Qualify Before You Start

The Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption freezes your rent at its current amount and gives your landlord a property tax credit for the difference. Every one of these conditions must be true, or the application will be denied:

You are at least 62 years old.¹
The combined income of everyone in your household was $50,000 or less for the prior calendar year, counting taxable and non-taxable income from wages, Social Security, pensions, investments, and any boarder payments. Gifts, inheritances, and Nazi persecution payments are excluded.¹
You spend more than one-third of your monthly household income on rent.²
You are named on the lease or rent order, or you have been granted succession rights.³
Your apartment is rent-stabilized, rent-controlled, or a rent-regulated hotel or single room occupancy unit. Certain Battery Park City and former Mitchell-Lama properties also qualify.¹
The apartment is your primary residence.
No one in your household already receives SCRIE, DRIE, Section 8, or another housing subsidy.²

One boundary to note: if you live in an HDFC or Mitchell-Lama apartment, the Department of Finance is not your agency. You apply through the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development instead.¹

Documents to Gather First

The form asks for information you cannot pull from memory, and the Department of Finance will not process an application with missing attachments. If anything is incomplete, the agency mails a Pending Notice listing what it still needs, and your file sits idle until you reply.²

Pull these together before you open the form:

Proof of age and identity: a birth certificate, valid passport, or other government-issued ID with your date of birth.⁴
Proof of income for the full prior calendar year for every household member: W-2s for wages, 1099-SSA for Social Security, 1099-R for pensions and annuities, SSI award letters, and year-end bank or brokerage statements for investment income.
Proof of rent, keyed to your apartment type. Rent-stabilized tenants need the current and prior lease, signed by both tenant and landlord. Rent-controlled tenants need the current and, if applicable, prior Notice of Increase in Maximum Base Rent and Maximum Collectible Rent (Form RN-26). Hotel and SRO tenants need DHCR annual apartment registrations for the current and prior year, plus a letter from the owner showing the current and prior rent.⁵
Preferential rent rider, if your lease does not list the rent amounts on its face.²
Power of attorney documentation, if someone else is filing for you.

Send copies. The Department of Finance does not return documents.

Working Through the Six Sections

The initial SCRIE application is one form with six numbered sections. The online version in NYC TAP walks you through the same fields as the paper form.⁵

Section 1: Applicant Information

Enter your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, apartment address, phone, and email. Then work through the list of income source categories. The form covers Social Security, veterans benefits, wages, pension, IRA and annuity earnings, interest, capital gains, public assistance, boarder payments, business income, workers’ compensation, and others. Check every category that applied to you last year, enter your total prior-year income, and enter total tax deductions claimed. If you retired within the past year, write your retirement date in the space provided. The form also asks whether anyone in the household has served in the U.S. Armed Forces, National Guard, or Reserves.

Section 2: Tenant Representative Information

If a family member, social worker, or attorney is helping you, fill in their name, relationship to you, organization if any, and contact information. If you are handling the application yourself, leave this section blank.

Section 3: Other Household Members

List every other person living in the apartment. For each, provide name, date of birth, Social Security number, relationship to you, income sources, and total prior-year income. The $50,000 income cap covers everyone listed here plus your income from Section 1.¹

Section 4: Apartment Type

Choose one option: rent-stabilized, rent-controlled, or rent-regulated hotel or SRO. Attach the supporting rent documents that go with that choice. For rent-stabilized apartments, indicate whether your lease is a one-year or two-year term and whether this is your first lease for the apartment. This section is what links your rent proof to the correct regulatory framework, so the box you check should match the documents you attach.

Section 5: Certification

Sign and date. If a person holding power of attorney or a court-appointed guardian is signing for you, their name and signature go here as well. An unsigned application will be returned.

Section 6: Required Documents Checklist

Section 6 lists every attachment the Department of Finance expects: proof of age, proof of income, proof of rent, and power of attorney documentation if applicable. Go through it item by item against the pile in front of you before you seal the envelope or click submit.

How to Submit

You have three ways to file, and the Department of Finance states that online applications are processed faster.⁶

Online through the NYC Tenant Access Portal. Register at nyc.gov using your NYC.ID or a social media account, then complete the application and upload your supporting documents directly.⁷
By mail to: NYC Department of Finance, Attn: Rent Freeze Program – SCRIE, P.O. Box 3179, Union, NJ 07083. Use a mailing method with tracking so you have proof of the delivery date.⁸
In person at a SCRIE/DRIE Walk-In Center. The main location is 66 John Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10038, open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Other centers operate at 144-06 94th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, and at 350 St. Marks Place, 4th Floor, on Staten Island. Appointments are strongly encouraged.⁹⁸

Before you send anything, make a full photocopy of the completed form and every attachment. If a Pending Notice arrives asking for more information, you will want the reference copy on hand.

After You Submit

Mailed applications can take up to four weeks from the mailing date before a status appears in the system.⁸ You can check status in NYC TAP or in the weekly tenant and applicant reports the Rent Freeze Program publishes by borough and docket number.¹⁰

For rent-controlled and rent-stabilized apartments, the benefit takes effect on the first day of the first month after the Department of Finance receives your initial application.¹¹ Filing sooner means protection begins sooner, even if the review itself takes weeks.

Once your application is approved, both you and your landlord receive an Approval Order stating the frozen rent you owe, the Tax Abatement Credit the landlord will receive, and the exemption period covered.⁸ Keep your copy where you can find it; you will need it if a billing question comes up with your landlord.

If Your Application Is Denied

You have 120 days from the date on the decision notice to file an appeal with the Department of Finance, using a separate appeal form.¹² If you miss that window, the Department of Finance may grant an additional six months on a showing of good cause.

After a decision has been issued, whether approval, denial, or revocation, you can also ask a Rent Freeze ombudsperson to help sort out problems with the outcome. The ombudspersons do not handle questions about applications still under review.¹³ Call 311 to be connected.

1
NYC.gov. Rent Freeze Program Qualifications
2
NYC311. Rent Freeze Program for Seniors
3
American Legal Publishing. New York City Rules Title 19 – 52-05 Eligibility Requirements for SCRIE and DRIE Benefits
4
NYC Department of Finance (DOF), NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE)
5
NYC.gov. Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption Initial Application
6
NYC.gov. Apply or Renew
7
NYC.gov. NYC TAP
8
NYC311. Rent Freeze Program Assistance
9
NYC.gov. Rent Freeze – NYC Tenant Resource Portal
10
NYC.gov. Rent Freeze Program Reports
11
American Legal Publishing. New York City Rules Title 19 – 52-03 Rent Increase Exemption Orders
12
NYC Department of Finance. SCRIE Tenant Appeal Application
13
NYC.gov. Help