It is important to note that these FAQs are not intended as a substitute for the definitions, interpretations, etc., contained in the respective rent regulatory statutes, codes, and regulations themselves, or any administrative or court decision construing such statutes, codes, and regulations, or any order of the New York City or County Rent Guidelines Boards.

In addition to our FAQs, consult NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR)’s FAQs on Rent Increases and Rent Overcharges.

I’m not sure my apartment is stabilized. How much can my rent be raised?

To find out whether or not your apartment is rent stabilized, contact NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), the state agency which administers the rent laws. Ask them if the apartment is or should be rent stabilized, and if it is, ask for a “rent history.” You can use the Ask HCR web portal to find out. Alternately, JustFix.nyc also offers an online tool to request your rent history online. (Also in Spanish) Also, if the apartment is rent stabilized, ask your landlord to provide a copy of the rent stabilization “lease rider.” If the apartment is rent stabilized, see the answer to the below question.

If your apartment is not rent stabilized, your rent increases may be limited if your apartment is protected by the Good Cause Eviction Law (see below). If you have no lease, or your lease has expired, you are considered a “month-to-month” tenant. According to the NYS Attorney General’s Office, a NYC landlord may raise the rent of a month-to-month tenant with the consent of the tenant. However, if the tenant does not consent, the landlord can terminate the tenancy by giving appropriate notice, as described below.

For tenants living in unregulated apartments, the Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019 requires landlords to provide tenants with written notice if they intend to raise the rent by at least 5% or if the landlord decides not to renew your lease. Specifically:

  • If a tenant has occupied the unit for less than one year, or does not have a lease term of at least one year, a 30-day notice is now mandatory.
  • A 60-day notice is required for tenants who have lived in an apartment for more than one year, but less than two years, or have a lease of at least one year, but less than two years.
  • Tenants who have lived in a unit for more than two years, or have a lease of at least two years, must get a 90-day notice.

According to NYS Attorney General’s Changes in New York State Rent Law: What You Need to Know:

If your landlord does not provide you with the required written notice, you have the right to remain in the apartment at your current rent until you are given the written notice and the time period that applies to you of 90, 60, or 30 days, expires.

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Are rent increases limited by the Good Cause Eviction Law?

Under the new Good Cause Eviction law, New Yorkers have the right to continue living in their homes without fear of unreasonable eviction or extreme rent increases. In many situations, tenants of market rate housing will now be covered by more expansive protections. 

Good Cause Eviction is a New York State law that went into effect on April 20, 2024. It gives some tenants of unregulated (also known as “market rate”) apartments in New York City new protections. Landlords of homes covered by the new Good Cause Eviction requirements cannot end a tenancy without a “good cause” reason and tenants can use this law as a defense in Housing Court. Tenants can also use the law to challenge rent increases above a certain level if they are evicted for nonpayment of rent. The law applies to eviction cases started on or after April 20, 2024, meaning cases where the landlord first filed documents in court to begin the case on or after this date.

The Good Cause Eviction law establishes a “local rent standard,” which is the amount of rent increase considered reasonable in a given year based on inflation in the local area. The local rent standard is set every year at the rate of inflation plus 5%, with a maximum of 10% total. A rent increase is considered unreasonable under Good Cause Eviction if the rent increase is higher than the local rent standard. Good Cause Eviction is enforced through the courts.

Learn more about Good Cause Eviction protections on the NYC HPD website.

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How do rents increase in stabilized apartments?

If you are rent stabilized, your rent can only be increased in accordance with the rent guidelines issued by the Rent Guidelines Board or on a specific ground set forth in the Rent Stabilization Code. The most common grounds for rent increases outside of our annual guidelines are major capital improvement (MCI) and individual apartment improvement (IAI) increases.

To see how much the rent may increase based on our rent guidelines, refer to our most recent Apartment Order. Rent increases based on other factors, like apartment improvements, can be found in HCR Fact Sheet #26: Guide to Rent Increases for Rent Stabilized Apartments in New York City. Also see HCR’s Overcharge webpage. If you live in a 421-a building, also read our Tax Abatement/Exemption FAQ.

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Are there any restrictions on rent increases in my unregulated apartment?

If a lease is currently in effect, there can be no rent increases. When a lease expires, or if there is no lease in effect, an owner of an unregulated apartment may charge what the market will bear. However, your rent increases may be limited if your apartment is protected by the Good Cause Eviction Law (see above).

In addition, the Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019 requires landlords to provide tenants with written notice if they intend to raise the rent by at least 5% or if the landlord decides not to renew your lease. If a tenant has a lease of less than one year, a 30-day notice is now mandatory. A 60-day notice is required for renters who have lived in an apartment for more than one year, but less than two years, or have a lease of at least one year, but less than two years. Tenants who have lived in a unit for more than two years, or have a lease of at least two years, must get a 90-day notice.

According to NYS Attorney General’s Changes in New York State Rent Law: What You Need to Know:

If your landlord does not provide you with the required written notice, you have the right to remain in the apartment at your current rent until you are given the written notice and the time period that applies to you of 90, 60, or 30 days, expires.

It is always worthwhile to check to see if the apartment was, if previously regulated, lawfully deregulated. To determine if the increase to a deregulated level was lawful, contact NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), the state agency which administers the rent laws, and ask for a rent history. You can use the Ask HCR web portal to get your apartment rent history.

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Can my landlord demand rent payment by cash or money order only?

No. According to the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR), the state agency that administers the rent laws, cash, money orders, personal checks and cashier’s checks are all valid ways to pay your rent, but your landlord cannot demand a specific form of payment unless the tenant agrees to it in a stipulation in Housing Court.

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Am I entitled to a receipt for my rent payments?

Landlords must provide tenants with a written receipt when rent is paid in cash, a money order, a cashier’s check or in any form other than personal check of a tenant. Where a tenant pays the rent by personal check, they may request in writing a rent receipt from the landlord. The receipt must state the payment date, the amount, the period for which the rent was paid, and the apartment number. The receipt must be signed by the person receiving the payment and state his or her title. (Real Property Law §§235-e)

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I have a stabilized apartment outside NYC. Are renewal amounts different from NYC?

Yes. Under the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA), each New York County with rent stabilized housing has its respective Rent Guidelines Board. We suggest you contact contact NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), the state agency which administers the rent laws, to find out the most recent guidelines for your county.

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What is a preferential rent, and are stabilized increases based on the legal or preferential rent?

A preferential rent is a rent which an owner agrees to charge that is lower than the legal regulated rent that the owner could lawfully collect. The legal regulated rent is required to be written into the vacancy lease and all subsequent renewal leases. The Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019, effective June 14, 2019, allows for both preferential and legal rents to be raised at the time of a lease renewal, and additionally requires that any preferential rent already being collected must continue to be offered at the time of a lease renewal. The rent increase to be collected at a lease renewal on the preferential rent must be set by applying the applicable guideline adjustment to the preferential rent. The full legal regulated rent cannot be collected until a vacancy occurs and can be offered to the next new vacancy lease tenant, provided that both the legal rent and the preferential rent are listed in the initial lease offering the preferential rent and every subsequent lease offering the preferential rent until the vacancy. Exceptions to these requirements may apply to preferential rents established by regulatory agreements.

A tenant who believes that they are entitled to a renewal lease with a preferential rent but is being charged more than that amount may file a rent overcharge or lease violation complaint with DHCR or a court of competent jurisdiction.

For additional information, see HCR Fact Sheet #40: Preferential Rents.

The only way you can ascertain the legal rent is to contact NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), and ask for a determination or a review of their records on the apartment in question. You can use the Ask HCR web portal to get your apartment rent history.

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How can I find out what the previous tenant paid in rent?

First, you should make sure that the apartment is (or was) rent stabilized. In some cases, the building may contain rent stabilized units, but not all of the apartments in the building may be stabilized. Verify with the landlord that the unit is rent stabilized. We have a list of stabilized buildings, but it is not comprehensive.

When you sign a stabilized lease a stabilization “Lease Rider” should be attached to your lease. The lease rider should contain the previous rent (according to the landlord) and the reasons why it was increased.

It is not possible to get an official rent figure for the previous tenant (unless you ask the previous tenant himself/herself) until you move into the apartment. For confidentiality reasons, NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), will not give you the rent history for the apartment until you sign a lease. Thus, if you like the apartment and it is stabilized, move in and then get the previous rent. If it seems inaccurate or incorrect, you can file a rent overcharge complaint with HCR. You can use the Ask HCR web portal to get your apartment rent history.

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I recently discovered that my rent has greatly increased from what the prior tenant paid. Should I file an overcharge complaint?

It is possible you are being overcharged. HCR is the agency which administers the rent laws and they can determine whether you are being overcharged. Tenants who think they are being overcharged can file an overcharge complaint with HCR, who can look back at the apartment’s rent history going back at least six years from the date you file the complaint.

If you haven’t already, you should request a copy of your apartment rent history from NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). You can use the Ask HCR web portal to get your apartment rent history mailed to you. Also see their Overcharge Information Page.

If the prior tenant was rent controlled, you may also file a Fair Market Rent Appeal (FMRA). This may or may not result in the finding of a rent overcharge depending upon the various factors used in calculating the new rent. See HCR Fact Sheet #6: Fair Market Rent Appeals.

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How can I find out what the landlord spent on individual apartment improvements (IAI) before signing my new lease?

Information on individual apartment improvements (IAI’s) can be found in these HCR webpages:

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What is an MCI increase?

When owners make improvements or installations to a building subject to the rent stabilization or rent control laws, they may be permitted to increase the rent based on the actual, verified cost of the improvements. This is called a Major Capital Improvement (MCI).

For a detailed explanation of MCIs, see HCR’s FAQ’s on Major Capital and Individual Apartment Improvements.

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As a rent stabilized tenant, do I have to pay increases for major capital improvements (MCI’s) in perpetuity?

With passage of the Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019, MCI rent increases will be removed from the rent 30 years after the increase becomes effective. For further information, see the previous question.

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Can owners who receive ERAP (Emergency Rental Assistance Program) assistance for a rent stabilized apartment increase the rent?

For rent stabilized units receiving ERAP, lawful rent increases are allowed to be preserved in the lease, but landlords must follow ERAP guidelines and agree to not increase the monthly rental amount above the monthly amount due at the time of application for ERAP assistance for months for which the rental assistance is received and for one year from receipt of the ERAP payment. Owners are advised by DHCR to send a letter to the tenant at the time ERAP payments begin and attach an explanatory rider at the time of the lease renewal. The rider should clarify that a lower rent is being charged pursuant to an ERAP directive and that the higher legal rent cannot be collected during the period of the ERAP rent freeze. The higher legal rent that was in the lease can be collected only when the ERAP rent freeze expires. It is unlawful for an owner to demand arrears from the tenant, in a lump sum or in any other manner, for the difference between the higher legal rent and the lower rent for the period that the ERAP rent freeze was in effect.

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