From the Metropolitan Council on Housing:
Rent control covers tenants who live in buildings built before February 1, 1947 and who have lived in their apartments since July 1, 1971 (if the building has fewer than three units, since April 1, 1953).
There are fewer than 25,000 rent controlled apartments. Rent controlled tenants are elderly and living on fixed incomes.
To raise the rent, landlords must apply once every two years, six months prior to the increase period. The city has rules and calculations to limit rent increases. Qualifying landlords can raise the rent by the allowable increase.
Rent stabilization generally covers residential buildings that:
- are privately-owned,
- contain 6 or more apartments, and
- were built and occupied before 1974
There are exceptions to these rules. There are around a million rent stabilized apartments. You can view of list of buildings with rent-stabilized units in each borough of New York City, organized by zip-code, on the New York City Rent Guidelines Board’s website
Some of the major protections and guarantees rent-stabilized tenants have include:
- Limited rent increases as set by the Rent Guidelines Board every June
- Guaranteed lease-renewal and the right to a “good cause” eviction–if you are rent-stabilized your landlord cannot simply decide they don’t want you as a tenant anymore, they are limited to certain reasons for evicting you (see below)
- Succession rights — if you are the immediate family member of a rent-stabilized tenant and have been living with them immediately prior to their moving or passing away, you might be entitled to take over the lease.
Learn more from the Metropolitan Council on Housing.
The city’s Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption program can help some tenants who:
- are 62 or older,
- with an income of $50,000 or less, and
- paying 1/3 of their income or more for rent
Last Reviewed: August 16, 2023