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What to do if your rent goes up
Learn your rights and how to get help with rent increases in this step-by-step guide
(1) Learn about protections for all tenants
The law provides protections for every tenant in NYC when their rent goes up. These laws apply regardless of your immigration status.
Rent increase notice
Landlords must give you written notice if they plan on raising your rent by more than 5%.
They must also give you written notice if they’re not renewing your lease.
The timing depends on how long you’ve lived in your apartment and your lease term.
Required notice period
| Conditions | Required notice |
|---|---|
| You’ve lived in the unit less than one year and you don’t have lease term of one year or longer | 30 days |
| You’ve lived in the unit more than one year but less than two years or your lease term is at least one year, but less than two years | 60 days |
| You’ve lived in the unit for more than two years or your lease term is at least two years | 90 days |
If your landlord does not give you the required notice, you have the right to stay in your apartment at your current rent. You should tell your landlord about the required notice law.
You can keep living in your apartment and paying your current rent until:
Your landlord gives you written notice of the rent increase or non-renewal, and
The required time of 30, 60, or 90 days after you get notice elapses
If you have questions, you can call the Tenant Helpline. Call 311 and ask for the “Tenant Helpline.”
Eviction warrants
Landlords must have a warrant of eviction or other court order to evict tenants. It’s illegal for a landlord to lock you out of your apartment.
Call 911 to report landlords who lock you out or withhold essential services such as electricity, heat, or water on purpose.
Warrants are official court documents that landlords must get through a formal process.
If a judge in housing court orders eviction, a Marshal must serve you notice 14 days before evicting you.
More protections for all tenants
NYC tenants also have rights when it comes to security deposits, late fees, and more.
(2) Check if your rent is regulated
If any of these categories apply to you or your apartment, there are limits to how much your rent can go up.
Open a category to learn about specific rent increase rules.
If none of these categories apply to you, continue to Step 3.
If you’re not sure whether these categories apply to you, you can ask the Tenant Helpline for help.
Call 311 and ask for the “Tenant Helpline.”
The most common type of rent regulation in NYC
Rent stabilization is the most common type of rent regulation in NYC. There are almost 1 million rent stabilized apartments in the five boroughs.
If you live in a rent stabilized home, your rent can only go up by a set amount each year.
The NYC Rent Guidelines Board decides how much rent can go up for rent stabilized units.
The current guidelines apply to rent stabilized leases starting or renewing October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025.
Current guidelines
| Lease length | Increase |
|---|---|
| 1-year lease | 2.75% increase |
| 2-year lease | 5.25% increase |
These rent increases take effect when tenants renew their leases. Tenants in rent stabilized apartments have the right to renew their lease when it ends.
Landlords must give tenants in rent stabilized apartments written notice of lease renewals.
If you live in a rent stabilized apartment and think you’re being overcharged for rent, make a rent overcharge complaint with the New York State Department of Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). You can make a complaint online. You can also print and mail a rent overcharge form to HCR [PDF].
If you need help with the overcharge complaint form, call 311 and ask for the “Tenant Helpline.”
A small number of older buildings with long-term tenants
Rent control is an older form of rent regulation in NYC. There are about 24,000 rent controlled units in the five boroughs. It’s much more likely for an apartment to be rent stabilized than rent controlled.
Most rent controlled apartments have been occupied by the same tenant or their family members since 1971.
Rent increases in rent controlled apartments are set by New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). They decide the highest base rent for each apartment and update it every two years.
If you live in a rent controlled apartment and think you’re being overcharged for rent, make a rent overcharge complaint with the NYS Department of Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). You can make a complaint online. You can also print and mail a rent overcharge form to HCR [PDF].
If you need help with the overcharge complaint form, call 311 and ask for the “Tenant Helpline.”
Buildings owned by the New York City Housing Authority
If you live in a NYCHA development, your rent is based on your household income.
NYCHA rents are generally 30% of the adjusted gross household income or a flat rent based on apartment size, whichever is lower.
If you're a NYCHA tenant and have questions about your rent going up, contact your local property management office or the NYCHA Customer Contact Center.
Buildings where tenants pay a portion of rent based on income, including RAD/PACT
If you live in a project-based Section 8 building, including RAD/PACT, the tenant-share is generally 30% of the adjusted gross household income.
If your income changes, your rent portion may change.
If you live in a NYCHA building, contact the NYCHA Customer Contact Center for more information. You can also request an informal conference on your Voucher Change Payment Notification (VCN) and return it to NYCHA.
If you live in an HPD building, contact HPD’s client services office at (917) 286-4300 for more information. You can also submit a rent disagreement or report a decrease in income to HPD by email to pbv@hpd.nyc.gov.
Developments produced under the Mitchell-Lama program
If you rent an apartment in a Mitchell-Lama development, there are a few ways your rent can go up:
Your household income changes
You don’t submit income paperwork on time
The housing company applies for a rent increase
If your household income is greater than the income limit for your apartment, you’ll owe a surcharge on your monthly rent. You’ll also owe a surcharge if you don’t report your income according to the rules.
The housing company that manages your development can also apply to raise rents. They must apply for a rent increase with the supervising agency. The agency will only approve it if the housing company can’t meet their financial obligations with the current rent. Tenants can review and comment on the plan before a decision is made.
You can learn more about rent increases from the agency that supervises your development:
421-a, J-51, 485-x, ELLA, SARA, and others (often found on Housing Connect)
Many housing developers in NYC receive incentives from government agencies. To get these incentives, developers make apartments in their buildings affordable.
These kinds of apartments are often found on Housing Connect.
The most common requirement is that apartments in these buildings are rent stabilized for a certain amount of time.
Specific terms vary. If you know the type of regulatory agreement your building receives (such as 421-a or J-51), you can find more information on the NYC Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) site:
You can also see if your building receives any tax abatements by looking them up on the property information portal.
If you need help finding out if your building has regulatory agreements, you can call the tenant helpline.
Call 311 and ask for the “Tenant Helpline.”
FHEPS, CityFHEPS, and HCV (Section 8)
If you use any of the following vouchers or subsidies, your rent portion is based on your income.
Family Homelessness & Eviction Prevention Supplement (FHEPS)
City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS)
Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV)
If your income changes, your rent portion may change.
If you have a question about a rent increase, contact the agency that issues your voucher or subsidy. If you’re not sure which agency issues your voucher or subsidy, you can call the Tenant Helpline.
Call 311 and ask for the “Tenant Helpline.”
(3) Learn about rent increases for unregulated rentals
If you don’t fall into any of the categories in Step 2, you probably have an unregulated rental. These are also called “market-rate” or “private” rentals.
In an unregulated rental, there are no limits to how much your rent can go up when your lease ends. But there are some important things you should know.
You’re covered by protections for all tenants
You’re still covered by all the protections in Step 1, including:
Landlords must give you notice before raising your rent by more than 5%
Landlords must give you notice if they’re not renewing your lease
Landlords can’t evict you without going through housing court
You may be covered by Good Cause Eviction
Good Cause Eviction is a New York State law that went into effect in 2024. It applies to some unregulated rentals in NYC.
There are many home types that are not covered by Good Cause Eviction. See a list of exceptions.
If your home is covered, the law says your landlord can’t evict you or decide not to renew your lease without a “good cause.”
Under this law, large rent increases can be considered “unreasonable.”
The standard for reasonable rent increases is based on the rate of inflation in the New York area. This “local rent standard” is set once per year. The current standard is 8.79%. Increases of more than 8.79% could be found to be “unreasonable” in housing court.
If your landlord raises your rent more than the current standard, you can try negotiating with them. Tell them about the law, your rights, and the definition of an unreasonable rent increase.
If your landlord won’t negotiate and you receive a notice of eviction because you didn’t pay rent, you can challenge an unreasonable rent increase in housing court.
If you think your landlord is violating the Good Cause Eviction law, you should get legal help to protect your rights. Low-income tenants facing eviction can get free legal help. Find out if you qualify by calling the Tenant Helpline.
Call 311 and ask for the “Tenant Helpline.”
Learn more about Good Cause Eviction
You should check if your apartment is rent stabilized
It’s possible your apartment might be rent stabilized without you knowing. An apartment is more likely to be rent stabilized if your building…
Has six or more units
Was built before 1974
But meeting these conditions doesn't necessarily mean a home is rent stabilized. Also, some apartments in newer buildings are rent stabilized.
To find out if your home is rent stabilized, first check your lease for mentions of rent stabilization. If you don’t have a lease or think it might be incorrect, you can request the rent history for your apartment.
Your apartment’s rent history will show you if the apartment was ever rent stabilized. You can request your rent history from New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR).
You can only request the rent history for the apartment you live in.
Request online
Fill out this form to request your apartment’s rent history online
Under “reason” select “Apartment rent history”
Be sure to include your entire address, including your apartment number and ZIP code
Request by phone
Call HCR’s Office of Rent Administration at 1(833) 499-0343 during business hours
Listen for the menu option “tenant apartment rent history”
Give the agent your full address, including the apartment number. You don’t need to give your name or an email address.
After you request your rent history
If your apartment was ever rent stabilized, a history document will be mailed to the apartment address. Note that you can’t have a rent history mailed to any other address.
If your apartment was never rent stabilized, you won’t receive anything in the mail. If you provided an email address, you may get an email reply from HCR.
Rent histories can be difficult to understand. After you receive it, you can contact the Tenant Helpline. They can help you find out if you’re being overcharged.
Call 311 and ask for the “Tenant Helpline.”
(4) What if I can’t afford rent?
The city offers programs for tenants that need help affording their rent.
You can check your eligibility for these programs using ACCESS NYC.
Programs you should know about
(5) Know your rights if you’re being evicted
If you’re facing eviction in NYC, it’s important to know your rights. No matter what type of home you live in or your immigration status, you can only be evicted by an NYC Marshal after going through the housing court process.
Call 911 to report landlords who lock you out or withhold essential services such as electricity, heat, or water on purpose.
There are resources available to help you get through this process, including free legal support.
Get eviction guidance online
Are you being evicted? Anonymously answer a few questions to get the information you need right away.
Need help?
The best way to get help with rent increase questions in NYC is to call the Tenant Helpline.
Call 311 and ask for the “Tenant Helpline.”