• Agency: NYS Homes and Community Renewal (NYS HCR)
• Status: Currently Available

In New York City, rent stabilized apartments are those apartments in buildings containing six or more units built between February 1, 1947 and January 1, 1974. Tenants in buildings of six or more units built before February 1, 1947, who moved in after June 30, 1971, are also covered by rent stabilization. A third category of rent stabilized apartments covers buildings with three or more apartments constructed or extensively renovated since 1974 that receive tax or program benefits that are conditioned upon participation in rent stabilization. New York's Rent Regulation laws were overhauled in June 2019, eliminating or limiting several mechanisms landlords could use to raise rents or deregulate apartments and significantly expanding tenant protections for all units, both rent stablized and market rate.

Rent control, along with rent stabilization, falls under the category of “Rent Regulation.” The term “rent regulated” can mean any program that regulates the amount of rent the landlord may charge for the apartment. In New York City, however, the term is generally used to refer to a legislative system of regulation of private apartments under two programs, rent control and rent stabilization. Restrictions the regulations impose include: annual percentage rent increases set by the Rent Guidelines Board; limits on rent increases connected to Individual Apartment Improvements or building wide Major Capital Improvements; and mandatory lease renewals offered to all tenants. Municipalities must declare an end to rent regulation if the overall vacancy rate of the city rises about five percent.

Units built or rehabiliated that qualify for 421(a) or J-51 tax incentives are subject to rent stabilization for the term of the tax benefit.