Rent Stabilized Apartments NYC Guide

Mar 14th 2023
NYC has over one million apartments that are subject to some form of rent regulation, the majority of which are classified as rent stabilized apartments. While approximately 98% of these apartments are rent stabilized, less than 2% are subject to the oldest form of rent regulation and are known as rent controlled apartments.

hash-markTable of Contents

What Is a NYC Rent Stabilized Apartment?
What Is a Rent Controlled Apartment?
How To Find a Rent Controlled or Rent Stabilized Apartment in NYC
How Can a Rent Stabilized Apartment Lose its Classification?
Can I Inherit a Rent Stabilized or Rent Control Apartment?
NYC Rent Stabilized Apartments Bottom Line

hash-markWhat Is a NYC Rent Stabilized Apartment?

NYC rent stabilized apartments are residential apartments that are subject to rent stabilization laws. They were first created during the 20th century after the city implemented rent control laws and are still common to this day. Rent stabilized apartments are meant to provide more affordable housing as landlords are not allowed to drastically increase rents for them. This makes NYC rent stabilized apartments highly desirable. 

Rent stabilization is the newer and more common form of rent-regulated apartments in New York City and is overseen by the NYC Division of Housing and Community Renewal ("DHCR").

Traditionally, rent stabilized apartments are in buildings with six or more units that were built before 1974. However, to create more affordable housing in the tight New York City rental market, New York currently gives tax incentives to developers that have three or more apartments constructed or substantially renovated after 1974, who voluntarily provide some rent stabilized apartments to the public. 

There is a cap on yearly rent increases for rent stabilized apartments. In June of each year, the Rent Guidelines Board votes on how much stabilized and controlled rents should be raised for the following year. Currently, for renewal leases beginning between Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023, the rent increase for the rent stabilized apartment are as follows:

NYC Rent Stabilized Apartment Increases

  • 1-year leases: 3.25 percent
  • 2-year leases: 5 percent

hash-markHow To Find a Rent Stabilized Apartment in NYC

  1. Search the Official NYC Database
  2. Search by Location
  3. Search by Year
  4. Search for Apartments Under $2700

1. Search the Official NYC Database

The first thing you should do to find a NYC rent stabilized apartment is to search the official database. The Rent Guidelines Board maintains a list of all buildings registered with the DHCR. While this PDF can be time-consuming to look through, it's a fantastic resource for someone adamant about finding a rent stabilized apartment.

2. Search by Location

While rent stabilized apartments can be found throughout New York City, the highest concentrations of rent stabilized apartments can be located in Upper Manhattan (Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood), the South Bronx, and central Brooklyn (Crown Heights). 

3. Search by Year

Search for buildings built between 1947 and 1974 because if the building was built after 1974, it likely isn't rent stabilized. Some new developments may also have rent stabilized apartments, but they tend to be much more expensive. 

4. Search for Apartments Under $2700

Search for apartments under $2,700 per month. If the apartment is rent stabilized the monthly rent will be under $2,700 unless it's new construction, in which case the developers may have some stabilized units as a requirement to take advantage of a 421-a or J-51 tax abatement.

Rent stabilized units in new construction are typically not attractive as they are often stabilized at an above-market rent (for example you may sign a lease for a 1 bedroom apartment in a new development for $3,000/month, but that will likely be a "preferential rent" due to "market conditions" while the actual stabilized rent could be hundreds or thousands more, making it easy for the landlord to raise rents as they see fit).

hash-markWhat Is a Rent Controlled Apartment?

For starters, if you have a rent controlled apartment in New York City, then you have hit the Jackpot! These apartments are very cheap and are often found in great neighborhoods (e.g., Upper West Side, Chelsea, etc.). However, an apartment can only qualify as "rent controlled" if the tenant/family has been continuously living in the apartment since July 1, 1971, and the apartment is located within a building that was built before 1947. Unfortunately, there are no new rent controlled apartments created, and the only way to get one is to move in with a relative who already has one and then assert succession rights when they die. 

Rent controlled apartments are subject to a system called "maximum base rent" which prescribes a maximum amount that a landlord can increase the rent. The rent in rent controlled apartments can be increased by 7.5 percent each year until the rent reaches the maximum-based rent. Maximum-Based rent can be increased every two years. However, practically speaking, due to the complexity of increasing the rent in rent controlled apartments, the majority of landlords in New York City opt-out of raising the rent altogether. 

hash-markHow Can a Rent Stabilized Apartment Lose its Classification?

1. High-Rent Vacancy Deregulation

The most common way for a rent stabilized apartment to lose its classification is through high-rent vacancy deregulation when rent rises past $2,700. If the legal, regulated rent exceeds $2,700 and the tenant leaves, the apartment can be deregulated through a process known as "vacancy decontrol."

2. High Rent-High Income Deregulation

If a rent-regulated tenant's rent is Two Thousand Seven Hundred Thirty-Three Dollars and Seventy-Five Cents ($2,733.75) or more per month, and the tenant's annual income is Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.000) annually, in each of the two (2) preceding calendar years, the landlord may deregulate the apartment

3. Individual Apartment Improvement

Additionally, once an apartment becomes vacant, (voluntarily or by eviction) the owner can increase the rent equal to either 1/40th or 1/60th of the cost of any renovations and improvements that they perform on the unit. This increase can be taken after any other vacancy increases are applied. Practically speaking, when an apartment becomes vacant, a landlord will renovate a unit to raise the legal, regulated rent so that it exceeds the $2,733.75 threshold and qualify for deregulation. 

4. Conversion

Another way to lose rent stabilization is by conversion to a co-op. If a building is converted to a co-op, any rent-regulated units within the building may be deregulated upon vacancy.

5. Expiration of a tax abatement

Once tax abatements, such 421-a, and J-51,  on a building expire, owners can legally charge market-rate rents (assuming they followed the proper procedures while the tax abatements were in effect).

6. Buyouts

Depending on the individual circumstances, sometimes it's worth it for the landlord to pay the tenant(s) money to move from their rent-regulated apartment, this process is commonly known as a "buy-out." While numerous factors dictate whether a landlord may want to buy-out a tenant, it essentially boils down to the question of "how much can make the landlord profit if it were allowed to rent the apartment at market rate?". In booming neighborhoods in Brooklyn, such as Crown Heights and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, buy-out negotiations can go well into the six figures, while apartments located in some areas of the Bronx may see buy-outs a little as $2,000. Once a landlord buys out a tenant, it may use various means, including Individual Apartment Improvement to deregulate the apartment.

hash-markCan I Inherit a Rent Stabilized Apartment?

Rent controlled and rent stabilized apartments can be inherited (i.e., "succession rights") by family as long as the heir to the apartment living in the apartment for two years before the death of the former tenant of record. However, if the person asserting succession rights is disabled or at least 62 years of age, then the period of co-occupancy with the former tenant is only one year.

hash-markNYC Rent Stabilized Apartments Bottom Line

Rent stabilized apartments provide a great option for New Yorkers looking for affordable housing. In addition to protecting tenants from unreasonable rent increases, the rent control laws that govern rent stabilized buildings in NYC grant residents a plethora of rights to ensure that they have access to comfortable yet affordable housing. This naturally makes NYC rent stabilized apartments highly desirable, so you'll need to do a bit of extra work to rent one, but it's well worth the effort.