About Rent Stabilization

Which apartments are covered by rent-stabilization?

There are approximately 900,000 rent stabilized apartments in New York City.

The law generally covers residential buildings that:

• are privately-owned,
• contain 6 or more apartments, and
• were built and occupied before 1974

Exceptions apply when

• a building is converted to a co-op or a condo (the tenants who moved-in after the conversion date are not covered, non-purchasing tenants who have been there since before to conversion are.)
• an individual apartment in the building was deregulated due to high-rent vacancy decontrol, or high-income/high-rent decontrol prior to June 14, 2019.

Additionally, some buildings that are smaller or were built after 1974 are covered by rent-stabilization because the developer or owner chose to enter those buildings into the rent-stabilization to receive a tax-abatement. 421-a tax abatements (for new construction) and a J-51 tax abatements (for upgrades to existing buildings) give rent-stabilization protections to tenants otherwise not covered, for the length of the tax abatement. Whether such benefits extend to such tenants past the length of the tax abatement depends on the lease offered to the tenant, on the arrangements with the city for that particular building’s tax abatement, and the owners’ compliance with the city’s requirements for providing notice to the tenant of the expiration date of the tax abatement.

How can I find out if my apartment is rent-stabilized?

You can view of list of buildings with rent-stabilized units in each borough of New York City, organized by zip-code, on the New York City Rent Guidelines Board’s website, or on the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal’s website. The presence of an address on this list means that the building should have at least one rent-stabilized apartment, but does not guarantee that your unit is rent-stabilized–individual apartments in the building may have been de-regulated prior to June 14, 2019.

If you are rent-stabilized or suspect you might be, you should get your apartment’s rent history from NYS HCR by calling 833-499-0343 or emailing rentinfo@nyshcr.org with your address and request. You can also submit a request at HCR’s online portal or text “RENT HISTORY” to (646) 783-0627.

What rights and protections do I have as a rent stabilized tenant?

Some of the major protections and guarantees rent-stabilized tenants have include:

• Limited rent increases as set by the Rent Guidelines Board every June
• Guaranteed lease-renewal and the right to a “good cause” eviction–if you are rent-stabilized your landlord cannot simply decide they don’t want you as a tenant anymore, they are limited to certain reasons for evicting you (see below)
• Succession rights — if you are the immediate family member of a rent-stabilized tenant and have been living with them immediately prior to their moving or passing away, you might be entitled to take over the lease.

What determines a rent-stabilized apartment’s “legal regulated rent”?

Your apartment’s unique history determines the legal rent – not area market rents, nor your ability to pay. Tenants in identical apartments may pay very different rents, especially between newer tenants and long-term tenants.

You can obtain a printout of the registered rents for your apartment – called a ‘rent history’ – from the NYS Division of Housing & Community Renewal. You can have this mailed to you by either calling 833-499-0343, emailing rentinfo@nyshcr.org with your address and request, submitting a form through DHCR’s online portal, or texting “RENT HISTORY” to (646) 783-0627. You can also obtain your rent history in person by visiting one of DHCR’s borough offices. To obtain your rent-history in person, you must bring a state-issued photo identification and a copy of your lease. Occupants of an apartment who are not named on the lease (such as family members, roommates, guests, or subletters) may be denied a copy of the rent history through in-person request. Borough rent offices are located:

• Bronx Borough Rent Office: 2400 Halsey Street, 1st Floor, Bronx, New York 10461  Phone:
• Brooklyn Borough Rent Office: 55 Hanson Place, Room 702, Brooklyn, New York 11217  Phone: 718-722-4778
• Manhattan (Uptown): Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Office Building, 163 West 125th St, 5th Floor, New York, New York 10027, Phone: 212-961-8930
• Manhattan (Downtown): 25 Beaver Street, 5th Floor, New York, New York 10004, Phone: 212-480-6238
• Queens: Gertz Plaza, 92-31 Union Hall Street, Jamaica, New York 11433, Phone: 718-739-6400

How can my rent be raised in a rent-stabilized apartment?

Rent Guidelines Board increases

The NYC Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) meets every spring to determine the renewal increase amounts for all of New York City’s rent-stabilized apartments. The RGB is a 9-member panel appointed by the mayor. They generally award landlords increases that steadily maintain or increase their profit level. The increases vary. For rent-stabilized leases being renewed between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023 the legal rent may be increased at the following levels: for a one-year renewal there is a 3.25% increase, or for a two-year renewal there is a 5% increase

A new guideline is voted on every June, and the increases take effect for leases coming up for renewal on October 1st of that year through September 30 of the following year. However, your landlord must offer you a renewal lease in order to collect a rent increase. If your landlord doesn’t offer you a valid lease renewal, you don’t need to pay the increase until a period of time after that offer.

To learn more about the Rent Guidelines Board, their meeting schedule, and see past adjustments, visit their website

Learn more about a rent-stabilized lease renewals.

Major Capital Improvements (MCIs)

When landlords replace major building systems like boilers, roofs, or plumbing, costs can be passed onto tenants as long-term rent increases. The cost is divided between all of the apartments in the building (calculated by room) and 1/144 or 1/150 of the total amount can be added to the monthly rent. Though 12 or 12.5 years later, your landlords will be fully reimbursed for the expense, your rent increase will last for 30 years. MCI increases for rent-stabilized tenants are capped at 2% per year and this amount is added to the base rent before the RGB adjustment. MCI increases are removed from the lease after 30 years.

Landlords must apply to DHCR to get MCI increases approved. Rent-stabilized tenants will receive notice that the landlord has applied for the increase and can challenge the application.

For more about challenging MCI applications, see our page on Major Capital Improvement rent increases.

Individual Apartment Improvements (IAIs)

When landlords make improvements to an individual unit, they can add increases to the legal rent. Total expenditure is capped at $15,000 every 15 years. The landlord can make improvements three or more times in a 15 year period but cannot claim more than a total of $15,000. These improvements usually occur between tenants when the apartment is vacant. You may see IAIs listed on your apartment’s rent history.

The amortization period is 1/168 (for buildings with 35 or fewer apartments) or 1/180 (for buildings with 35 or more apartments). Combined with the cap, this means landlords can increase the rent by no more than either $89/month or $83/month for IAIs in any 15 year period.

The rent increase is temporary and should leave your rent after 30 years if the IAI was added to your rent after June 14, 2019.

Tenants can investigate overcharges with DHCR – including if the unit was deregulated as a result – and seek rent adjustment and damages. (See our page on rent stabilization overcharges.)

Tenants can also be subject to IAI increases during their tenancy if the landlord provides a new appliance, or renovates the apartment at the request of the tenant. However, rents cannot be raised for apartment repairs, and when appliances break, the tenant can request a used appliance in good working order, rather than a new appliance, to avoid any rent increase. (See our page on when an appliance breaks.)

On what grounds can I be evicted from my a rent stabilized apartment?

• Non-payment of rent
  • Like any other tenant, as a rent-stabilized tenant you can be sued for eviction in Housing Court if you owe back rent. 
• Violating a substantial obligation of your lease.Examples include:
  • subletting without permission
  • not using the apartment as your primary residence
  • operating a business out of your apartment
  • making alterations to your apartment without permission
  • using appliances such as washing machines that are prohibited in your lease
• Being a nuisance. Examples include:
  • selling drugs
  • constant noise coming from the apartment
  • violent behavior
  • cluttering your apartment to the point that it is a hazard
  • paying your rent late on a chronic basis
• Limited landlord actions
  • owner-use (the landlord is seeking the apartment for his/her personal use, or that of an immediate family member)
  • whole-building demolition

What is the history of New York’s rent-stabilization program?

Established in 1969 to cover tenants in post-World War II buildings, the law was extended when the state legislature passed the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974. The rent stabilization system is NYC’s largest affordable housing program (the median household income of the rent stabilized household is $40,600 per year; while those tenants in unregulated apartments earned a median of $58,000 per year in 2013). The system protects tenants from the housing market forces that drive displacement and steep rent increases while it permits landlords a fair return on their investment. Because the system limits landlords’ profits, it is under continuous attack from the real estate industry.

The rent laws are controlled from Albany thanks to changes made in the 1970’s when Governor Rockefeller enacted vacancy decontrol in an attempt to phase out rent regulations. The rent stabilization law was saved; however, the state retained the power over the enabling of the laws and tenants must go to Albany on a regular basis to get the laws renewed, in addition to getting the NY City Council to renew the laws every three years. In the 1990’s and most recently, in 2003, landlords have forced weakening amendments as the price of renewal. Landlords gave millions of dollars to elected officials in Albany (especially to the committees formerly controlled by Governor Pataki and Senate leader Joe Bruno). Thanks to these changes, we have lost tens of thousands of units of regulated housing. Without a fierce fight from the tenants in NYC, we will lose so many more units that the laws will be gutted in Albany. 

In 2019, a coalition of tenant groups from across the state fought for and won some of the strongest tenant protections in New York’s history. In addition to stronger protections for all tenants regardless of regulation status, the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) ended the deregulation of rent-stabilized apartments, ended the 20% vacancy bonus that landlords were previously entitled to take between tenants, and brought new limits to MCI and IAI increases. We still have more to fight for! Tenants must continue to pressure lawmakers for better enforcement of existing laws, to end the unjust MCI system entirely, and to guarantee our neighbors in unregulated apartments the same rights to guaranteed renewal and limited rent increases. Join the fight today!