Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) Requests and Office of Rent Administration (ORA) Requests for Records

The Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”), Article 6 (Sections 84-90) of the NYS Public Officers Law, provides the public with the right to access records maintained by government agencies with certain exceptions.

“Record” means any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with, or for this agency, in any physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or disks, rules, regulations or codes.

Learn more about records access and the HCR Portal.

If you would like your personal records from the Office of Rent Administration, an office of one of our component agencies, the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, you may not have to file a FOIL request.

HCR FOIL Counter

Office of Rent Administration (ORA) Request for Records Access
 

NOTICE – Without filing a Records Access Request, owners can now independently at home or at the office print CERTIFIED Registered Apartment Information reports with print options for 5 years and All years.
 

• ARRO has a reporting feature: RAI, Registered Apartment Information. Once you have submitted your registration, you will be able to access this report, located in Forms & Reports. 
• The report has been created to enable you to independently print CERTIFIED 5-year apartment rent histories for all of your apartments to comply with the requirements of NYC Local Law 113. As previously reported, DHCR staff will not be processing requests to generate these at Borough Rent Offices or through its Records Access Unit or email addresses.
• In addition, owners can now print CERTIFIED all year apartment rent histories for all of your apartments for other purposes.

ORA, an office of the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, one of our component agencies, is the custodian of records for apartments that are subject to rent control and rent stabilization. These records include copies of orders, case files, rent control records, and rent stabilized rent registration filings. Access to ORA records will be provided by email or postal mail. File reviews may take place at ORA offices, if necessary. In general, these records can be accessed by the subject tenant or owner of record, or their authorized representative.

Therefore, it is not necessary for the requester to cite the FOIL statute when requesting records. The requester may file a request for records access

By Email:

[email protected]

By Mail:

• Download a copy of form REC-1 and
• File a paper request for records access by mail, with proof of identity and/or authorization attached to:
  
  New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal
  Office of Rent Administration
  Records Access Officer
  Records Access Unit
  92-31 Union Hall Street, 6th floor
  Jamaica, New York 11433

Download Records Access Request Form

Learn more about obtaining records from ORA 

*Records Access Requests (form REC-1) must be emailed to [email protected] or sent via postal mail to the address above. 
Do not use the FOIL records request form to submit a request for records related to rent.

Online FOIL Records Request Form

Submit a foil request

*This form is for FOIL records requests and may not be used to submit requests for access to records related to rent. See the section above.

Mail or hand deliver written FOIL requests to the applicable address(es) below:

For NYS Housing Finance Agency, State of New York Mortgage Agency, NYS Affordable Housing Corporation, State of New York Municipal Bond Bank Agency, or Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation:

• Records Access Officer
  641 Lexington Avenue
  New York, New York 10022

For New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal:

• Office of Legal Affairs
  38-40 State Street
  Hampton Plaza, 5th Floor
  Albany, New York 12207

For NYS DHCR’s Office of Rent Administration:

• Office of Rent Administration
  FOIL Unit
  Gertz Plaza
  92-31 Union Hall, 6th Floor
  Jamaica, New York 11433

Within five (5) business days of the receipt of a written request for a record that is reasonably described, we will send you a letter either: making such record available; denying such request in writing; or furnishing a written acknowledgment of the receipt of such request. If you have not received a letter within five (5) business days, please contact us through the HCR Portal.

An acknowledgment letter will provide you with an estimate of when the records you request will be available, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request. This date is determined by the number of documents you request, their format, their availability, the time that it takes to redact any information that cannot be disclosed pursuant to FOIL, the time that it takes to assemble the documents, and other factors.
If the records that you request require a fee to be paid, you will be notified prior to the records being released to you. When records cannot be transmitted electronically, fees for reproduction of standard size paper are 25 cents a page. The fees must be paid by personal check, certified bank check, attorney’s check or money order, payable to the particular agency from which you have requested records. Cash will not be accepted. Unless a different fee is otherwise prescribed by statute, Public Officers Law §87(1) authorizes an agency to charge a fee of 25¢ per copy for copies of records up 9”x 14”, or the actual cost of reproducing a record. In determining the actual cost of producing a record, an agency may include only:

• An amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to the lowest paid agency employee who has the necessary skill required to prepare the requested record(s), if at least two hours of agency employee time is needed to prepare a copy of the record(s) requested;
• The actual cost of the storage devices or media provided to the person making the request in complying with such request; and
• The actual cost to the agency of engaging an outside professional service to prepare a copy of a record, but only when an agency's information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy, if such service is used to prepare the copy.

Once the requested records are prepared, you may receive the records via the HCR Portal, paper, CD/DVD, or USB. Requests for records may be hand delivered in writing and records are available for inspection, by appointment only, on business days between 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. at the Records Access office, the exact time of which shall be provided in a written confirmation from the Records Access Officer.

Under provisions of the Public Officers Law you may appeal a FOIL determination. If you desire to submit such an appeal, you must do so within thirty (30) days of the written response to your FOIL request. Please mail to the applicable address provided below or upload a copy of the original request for records and a copy of the FOIL response letter that you received together with your appeal letter to the HCR Portal and address your appeal to:

For NYS Housing Finance Agency, State of New York Mortgage Agency, NYS Affordable Housing Corporation, State of New York Municipal Bond Bank Agency, or Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation:

• Records Access Officer
  641 Lexington Avenue
  New York, New York 10022

For New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal:

• Office of Legal Affairs
  38-40 State Street
  Hampton Plaza, 5th Floor
  Albany, New York 12207

For NYS DHCR’s Office of Rent Administration:

• Office of Rent Administration
  FOIL/ Records Access Officer
  Gertz Plaza
  92-31 Union Hall, 6th Floor
  Jamaica, New York 11433

You will be informed in writing of the decision within ten (10) business days of our receipt of such an appeal. Please indicate the FOIL request number when corresponding on this subject.

Subpoenas are to be served at the following addresses:

For matters concerning the Section 8 Unit: 25 Beaver Street, New York, NY 10004

For matters concerning Mitchell-Lama Properties: 641 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022

For matters concerning the Office of Rent Administration (ORA): Gertz Plaza, 92-31 Union Hall Street, 6th floor, Jamaica, NY 11433

Summary of Procedures for Subpoenas for Records of the Office of Rent Administration (ORA)

The subpoena needs to be:

• For records, known as a ”subpoena duces tecum.”

• Marked “so ordered” and signed by a judge of the court issuing the subpoena.

• Accompanied by a fee in the amount of $15.00, not payable in cash.

• Served at least 24 hours before the return date thereof.

• Served at Gertz Plaza, 92-31 Union Hall Street, 6th floor, Jamaica, NY 11433.

For a full guide to obtaining subpoenas and other records from ORA, see Operational Bulletin #2023-1: Procedures for Requests for Records Access, Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) Requests and Subpoenas.

The following is a current list of records, by subject matter, that are maintained by the component agencies of HCR.  Some of the listed records may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law.

 Pursuant to New York Public Officers Law s 87(3) (c), the agencies that compose HCR are each required to maintain a reasonably detailed current list by subject matter of all records in their possession. These lists must be posted on HCR’s website.

Subject Matter Records Lists

• Subject Matter Records List for the following:
  • New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA)
  • State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA)
  • New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC)
  • State of New York Municipal Bond Bank Agency (MBBA)
  • Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation (TSFC)
• Subject Matter Records List for the following:
  • The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR)
  • Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC)

Agency FOIL Regulations

FOIL Regulations for HCR

For more information about FOIL, please visit the New York State Committee on Open Government’s Website.

When submitting a FOIL request:

• Be as specific as possible in describing the requested records. Include relevant dates, names, descriptions, etc. See suggested language for a FOIL request from the Committee on Open Government.
• If records are available, specify how you want them sent, i.e., via U.S. mail or e-mail. We may choose to send the records by U.S. Mail, if you have requested a large volume of records, for security or other reasons. We will notify you of any charge for reproducing such records before they are sent to you.
• Include your e-mail and postal mailing address as well as a telephone number where you can be reached during business hours, if it is necessary to clarify your request.
• Please note that the agencies that compose HCR are not required to create a new record in response to FOIL requests.