Ask Sam: Can my landlord charge me extra if I build shelves into my apartment?

However, kitchen cabinets that are attached to the walls with heavy-duty bolts and have doors can qualify as "fixtures"—and therefore an "alteration"—to your apartment, so if this is the kind of shelving you had in mind, be sure to hammer out an agreement with the landlord first. Almost all residential leases contain enforceable clauses which prohibit tenants from performing alterations without prior written consent of the landlord.  If they want you to leave it in the apartment when you move, be sure to get this provision in writing so you they can't try to use your alterations as an excuse to withhold your security deposit down the road.

In any case, the landlord definitely can't charge you extra for work you've done yourself.  The only way the landlord could up the rent for something like this after you take occupancy would be if they did work on your apartment that was significant enough to justify a rent increase—often this means adding in new appliances or kitchen cabinets. In this case, you'd have to sign a written document agreeing to have the work done, and consenting to the rent increase  and the landlord would be allowed to charge 1/40th or 1/60th of the cost of work. "It's like a Major Capital Improvement, in that it's a permanent increase in the monthly legal regulated rent," says Himmelstein.