New York City Rent Freeze Program
2025 Interactive Report
Preston Niblack
Commissioner
Rent Freeze Program
The New York City Rent Freeze Program is comprised of the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) and the Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE). The program assists low-income seniors and people with disabilities who reside in rent-regulated apartments or apartments subject to the Private Housing Finance Law.
The SCRIE and DRIE benefits freeze recipients’ rent and protect them from future increases. As housing costs continue to rise citywide, the Rent Freeze Program helps New Yorkers remain in their homes.
The Rent Freeze exemptions freeze participants’ rent, protecting renters from future increases as long as they remain in the program. The program provides property tax credits to landlords to cover the difference between their tenants’ frozen rent amount and the amount of rent increase that would be permitted by the Rent Guidelines Board.
Those eligible for the program include tenants residing in Mitchell-Lama and other Private Housing Finance Law units, and apartments that are regulated by New York State Housing and Community Renewal (HCR), rent-controlled, rent-stabilized, or hotel-stabilized apartments.
In order to qualify for the benefit, recipients need to meet the following eligibility criteria.
| Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) | Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) |
|---|---|
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Rent Freeze Program Recipients
In calendar year 2024, 67,677 households received DOF administered SCRIE or DRIE benefits, 50,071 SCRIE (DOF) recipients, 6,594 SCRIE (HPD) recipients, and 11,952 DRIE (DOF) recipients.
Explore rent freeze benefit recipients by census tract using the map below.
Note: Recipients reported by census tract are limited to the DOF-administered SCRIE and DRIE benefits, therefore HPD-administered Mitchell Lama SCRIE benefits are excluded.
The number of SCRIE and DRIE recipients increased steadily from 2014 through 2019, then declined from 2020 to 2023. Between 2014 and 2019, total participation grew by 12.6%, with increases of 8.9% in DOF administered SCRIE benefits, 13.7% in HPD-administered SCRIE benefits, and 33.5% in DRIE benefits.
Over the longer span from 2014 to 2024, DOF-administered SCRIE participation declined by 4.0%, while HPD-administered SCRIE and DRIE participation rose by 15.2% and 20.4%, respectively. The initial drop in 2020 is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately affected the program’s target population. Since then, the rate of decline has slowed (to –2.6% in 2022 and –0.3% in 2023) followed by a modest 0.8% increase in 2024, suggesting that the trend may be reversing.
Between 2014 and 2024, the number of SCRIE recipients declined in every borough except Queens, where the change was negligible (a 0.2% increase). In contrast, DRIE participation rose from 2014 to 2024 significantly in Brooklyn (55.9%), Queens (27.7%), Manhattan (19.1%), and Staten Island (11.8%), but fell by 7.8% in the Bronx.
Most SCRIE and DRIE recipients have incomes well below the $50,000 income eligibility threshold, a household size of 1-2, and have been in the program for approximately 10 years. The average age of SCRIE recipients is 77 and 65 for DRIE recipients.
| Program | Characteristic | Average | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| DRIE | Household Size | 1.5 | 1 |
| DRIE | Householder Age | 64 | 65 |
| DRIE | Income | $18,662 | $16,671 |
| DRIE | Years in Program | 10.1 | 10.6 |
| SCRIE | Household Size | 1.5 | 1 |
| SCRIE | Householder Age | 77 | 77 |
| SCRIE | Income | $21,910 | $18,551 |
| SCRIE | Years in Program | 10.4 | 9.7 |
There is some variation of participant characteristics by borough. Program recipients in Manhattan have the highest average duration in the program, followed by Queens and Brooklyn. The median income of participants across all boroughs is under $25,000 with the median monthly benefit percentage varying between $202 in Staten Island to $277 in Queens.
| Borough | Years in Program | Income | Current Rent | Frozen Rent | Monthly Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | 10.9 | $20,415 | $1,230 | $967 | $236 |
| Bronx | 9.6 | $19,628 | $1,124 | $909 | $215 |
| Brooklyn | 10.2 | $20,138 | $1,194 | $951 | $243 |
| Queens | 10.3 | $21,716 | $1,319 | $1,043 | $277 |
| Staten Island | 8.2 | $24,534 | $1,277 | $1,075 | $202 |
On average, SCRIE and DRIE participants save approximately $200 monthly on rent, as the rent they pay is frozen at approximately $900 monthly with the rent freeze benefit closing the gap to the current rent of approximately $1,100.
Note: The totals displayed at the top of each bar correspond to the average/median monthly rent of SCRIE/DRIE participants. For median values, adding the rent freeze and frozen rent values will not sum to the median current rent.
As expected, longer participation in the rent freeze program is associated with higher benefit amounts, since rent increases permitted by the Rent Guidelines Board accumulate over time. The longer a household remains in the program, the larger the benefit, as legal rents increase over time.
Note: DRIE was created in October 2005, so at the time of this report there are no program recipients that could be in the program for over 20 years.
As with benefit amounts, the covered percentage increases with time in the program.
Note: DRIE was created in October 2005, so at the time of this report there are no program recipients that could be in the program for over 20 years.
The chart below shows the distribution of recipients by rent burden, or the percentage of their income dedicated to rent. Overall, more the 50% of recipients (58% of SCRIE recipients and 66% of DRIE recipients) are paying more than 50% of their income in rent. The largest group falls into the 33%-40% range: 26% of SCRIE recipients and 20% of DRIE recipients pay that share of income toward frozen rent. Notably, 14% of SCRIE and 16% of DRIE recipients had frozen rents that exceeded their household income in 2024. The median rent-to-income ratio was 56% for SCRIE and 62% for DRIE recipients.
Eligible Population Estimate
DOF estimates that 158,214 households were eligible for the Rent Freeze Program in 2023—up 17% from the 135,111 estimated in 2019.
Note: Recipients reported by neighborhood (sub-borough area) are limited to the DOF-administered SCRIE and DRIE benefits, therefore HPD-administered Mitchell Lama SCRIE benefits are excluded.
The program utilization rate in 2023 was 42.4%, down from 55.9% in 2019. The increase in the estimated eligible population is primarily due to growth in the number of rent-stabilized apartments registered with HCR. In the September 2022 report, the estimate for rent-stabilized units was based on HCR’s 2019 data, which listed 907,012 registered units. By 2023, that number had increased by 7.4% to 974,050.
Landlords of rent-stabilized buildings are required by law to file annual registrations with HCR. In recent years, amid concerns about declining compliance, HCR increased audit activity to enforce this requirement. The resulting uptick in registrations may reflect units that should have been rent-stabilized in prior years but had not been reported. This may have contributed to the higher estimate of eligible households and, in turn, exaggerated the decline in the program’s utilization rate.
Note: Recipients reported by neighborhood (sub-borough area) are limited to the DOF-administered SCRIE and DRIE benefits, therefore HPD-administered Mitchell Lama SCRIE benefits are excluded.
For additional notes on methodology, explore the complete report available here: 2025 Report on the New York City Rent Freeze Program.