All topics / Administrative Services / Department of Finance
Average time to process initial Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption applications (days)
Administer rent and property owner exemption programs — Promptly review applications for exemption programs.
Processing time for these senior rent-freeze applications spiked in fiscal 2023 because DOF, following a pandemic-era policy, kept renewing benefits for seniors who couldn't submit paperwork on time rather than denying them, which piled up cases just as processing staff levels fell. DOF's later reports say the agency brought times back down through fiscal 2025 by shifting staff and expanding automation.
Researched July 15, 2026 — NYC Department of Finance, Fiscal 2023 Mayor's Management Report, NYC Department of Finance, Fiscal 2024 Mayor's Management Report, NYC Department of Finance, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual | Target |
|---|---|---|
| FY22 | 11.1 days | 10 days |
| FY23 | 25.8 days | 10 days |
| FY24 | 16.2 days | 10 days |
| FY25 | 12.2 days | 10 days |
| FY26 (YTD) | 19.1 days | 10 days |
Why this is tracked
The City Council created the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) in 1970 to protect elderly tenants in rent-regulated apartments from being priced out by legal rent increases; the program was expanded in 2005 to cover people with disabilities through the Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE). Eligible tenants have their rent frozen, and landlords are compensated for the foregone increase through a dollar-for-dollar property tax abatement credit -- which is why DOF, the property tax agency, ended up administering it. SCRIE and DRIE together are known as the NYC Rent Freeze Program.
Benefits Plus - SCRIE Overview, NYC Department of Finance - Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE)
Source: SCRIE Unit — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported monthly.
Definition: The time, measured in calendar days, between the date an initial SCRIE application is received at the SCRIE unit and the date the review process is completed, that is, the application is approved, denied or deemed incomplete.