Rent Stabilization  

Rent Stabilization in NYC

Rent stabilization is a form of rent regulation; it helps combat the City's housing crisis by making sure some units remain affordable. Almost half of all apartments in New York City are rent stabilized. Rent stabilized apartments are most often located in buildings containing 6 or more units, which were built before 1974. If you live in a rent stabilized unit, you are entitled to additional protections and rights, so it is important to know your status.

Rent control is another form of rent regulation which also limits the rent an owner may charge for an apartment and restricts the right of any owner to evict tenants. The vast majority of rent regulated units in NYC are rent stabilized, rather than rent controlled.

Determining Rent Stabilization

Here are some things to look out for to figure out if your home is rent stabilized:

• It may be written on your lease.
• Your rent amount might not be a round number (for example, your rent might be $2176.43 instead of $2100).
• Rent stabilization is reflected in your apartment's rent history.

Requesting Rent History

Process for checking rent history

To determine if your home is rent stabilized, or to prove that it is, you can check your lease or order your rent history. If your lease is unclear or you don't have one, order your rent history from the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR):

• Order your rent history online
  • Fill out this form to request your rent history online
  • Under "reason" select "Apartment rent history" or "Am I rent stabilized?" : both will get you the same result!
  • Include your First and Last Name, Email Address (if you don't have an email address, write "N/A"), and Select the Building Address, including the unit/apartment and zip code
• Contact HCR's Office of Rent Administration by emailing rentinfo@nyshcr.org
  • When requesting a rent history via email, you must provide the full address including the apartment number.
• Contact HCR's Office of Rent Administration by calling 833-499-0343
  • To request your rent history over the phone, listen for the menu option to request your rent history, and stay on the line.
  • You must provide the full address including the apartment number, but you do not need to provide your name or an email address.

Note: You can only request a rent history for your address and your rent history will only be mailed to you directly.

After submitting a request

• If you indicated an email address in your initial request, you should receive a confirmation of your request via email
• If the apartment is rent stabilized, you will receive the rent history in the mail (at the address you shared in your request). If your apartment is NOT rent stabilized, you will not receive anything in the mail.
  

Rent history documents can be difficult to understand, so we recommend that once you receive it, you contact the Tenant Support Unit by calling 311 and asking for the "Tenant Helpline." We can help determine your stabilization status and check if you are being overcharged in rent.

Rent Increases in Rent Stabilized Homes

There is a legal limit to how much you can be charged in rent. Your rent can only be increased by a percentage that is decided on each year by the Rent Guidelines Board. If you believe you are being overcharged in rent, make a rent overcharge complaint with the NYS Department of Homes and Community Renewal. In the Spring of 2024, the Rent Guidelines Board decided on rent changes that apply to rent stabilized leases starting on or after October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025.

Under the current guidelines, rent stabilized apartment leases can include rent increases of up to the following percentages:

Additional Tenant Rights in Rent Stabilized Homes

• You have the right to renew your lease. This protects you from being evicted because of an expired or nonexistent lease. You can choose between a 1 or 2-year lease. If your landlord does not provide you with a renewal lease, you can submit a complaint with the Office of Rent Administration. Contact the Tenant Support Unit for support.
• Rent stabilized tenants have the right to a renewal lease containing the same terms as their original lease.
• The Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019 established that tenants paying a preferential rent on or after June 14, 2019, will retain it as long as they continue to rent the property. Preferential rent is rent that is lower than the legal regulated rent for the apartment. Tenants with preferential rent will still see rent increases, but only by the percentages allowed by the Rent Guidelines Board.
• Since the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) was passed, rent stabilized apartments remain rent stabilized regardless of how high the rent reaches (unless the building received a 421-a exemption).
• If you live with certain family members in their rent stabilized unit, and they pass away or permanently leave the apartment, you may be able to take over the lease with "succession rights."
• If you are an older adult or have a disability, you might qualify to freeze your rent. Learn more about Rent Freeze.