NYC Real Estate Renting Tips and Advice for Renters

Are You Living in a Rent-Stabilized Apartment?

By Jordi Lippe-McGraw January 14, 2022

It’s no secret that rent in New York City is expensive compared to other parts of the country. That’s why it’s always jaw-dropping to hear a story of someone paying much less than market-rate rent here. Remember how Carrie Bradshaw only paid $700 for her iconic Upper East Side pad in “Sex And The City”? That amount was still considered cheap in the late 1990s! The reason? Her place was probably a rent-stabilized apartment. Unfortunately, those highly coveted, affordable units seem like a distant dream. But they do exist. Is your NYC apartment rent-stabilized? Here’s how to find out.

Table of Contents

Hell’s Kitchen

348 West 45th Street

$2,495 No Fee

Studio |

1

Hamilton Heights

557 West 148th Street

$2,350 No Fee

2 |

1

Upper West Side

150 West 74th Street

$2,117 No Fee

1 |

1

Lenox Hill

512 East 79th Street

$2,375 No Fee

Studio |

1

Washington Heights

88 Wadsworth Avenue

$2,000 No Fee

1 |

1

Hudson Heights

295 Bennett Avenue

$1,975 No Fee

1 |

1

Hudson Heights

295 Bennett Avenue

$2,000 No Fee

1 |

1

South Harlem

146 West 111st Street

$2,383 No Fee

1 |

1

Lenox Hill

341 East 65th Street

$2,395 No Fee

1 |

1

Murray Hill

324 East 35th Street

$2,425 No Fee

Studio |

1

Fort George

2 Ellwood Street

$1,800 No Fee

Studio |

1

Manhattanville

3333B Broadway

$2,250 No Fee

Studio |

1

How Many Rent-Stabilized Units Are in NYC?

A New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey dating back to 2017, revealed there are close to 1 million rent-stabilized units in NYC. At the time of this writing, StreetEasy offered 220 listings with the term “rent-stabilized” in the apartment description. Here are tips for how to find a rent-stabilized apartment.

Benefits of a Rent-Stabilized Apartment

There are many reasons to find out if your NYC apartment is rent-stabilized in addition to affordability:

Landlords can only increase the rent by a percentage determined by the Rent Guidelines Board.
Rent is not dependent on your income level, apartment size, or the number of residents.
Landlords must renew leases every year, increasing housing security for rent-stabilized tenants.
Tenants in rent-stabilized apartments can pass on the unit to family members in some cases.

Bedford-Stuyvesant

57 Herkimer Street

$2,350 No Fee

1 |

1

Bedford-Stuyvesant

460 Throop Avenue

$2,267 No Fee

1 |

1

Crown Heights

24 Rogers Avenue

$2,400 No Fee

Studio |

1

Crown Heights

119 Albany Avenue

$2,300 No Fee

Studio |

1

Flatbush

88 Linden Boulevard

$2,396 No Fee

Studio |

1

Park Slope

351 Prospect Avenue

$2,212 No Fee

1 |

1

Fort Hamilton

9303 Shore Road

$2,300 No Fee

1 |

1

Stuyvesant Heights

550 Kosciusko Street

$2,095 No Fee

1 |

1

Ditmas Park

738 East 22nd Street

$1,695 No Fee

Studio |

1

Stuyvesant Heights

509 Vanburen Street

$2,361 No Fee

1 |

1

Bay Ridge

305 84th Street

$1,790 No Fee

1 |

1

Brownsville

93 East 96th Street

$2,235 No Fee

2 |

1

How To Find Out if Your Apartment Is Rent-Stabilized

Generally speaking, an NYC apartment is rent-stabilized if it is in a building that contains six or more units, was built before 1974, and isn’t a co-op or condo. However, it’s important to remember that prior to the 2019 legislation, units would fall out of rent stabilization once they hit a certain rent threshold. So, to find out if your unit is rent-stabilized, contact NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) via phone or web portal and request a rent history.

Reviewing your rent history is a great way to find out if your apartment is rent-stabilized, but it also offers other benefits. For example, a rent history will help you find out if your landlord is charging you more than your apartment’s legal rent if it is stabilized, or if they were granted a rent increase for a Major Capital Improvement (MCI) or Individual Apartment Improvement (IAI), that they did not actually conduct to destabilize a unit. Another tool you can use is the Rent Guidelines Board’s list of rent-stabilized buildings in New York City. Buildings are organized by borough and zip code, and the documents can be downloaded and searched by keyword, address, etc.

Briarwood

139-05 85 Drive

$1,650 No Fee

Studio |

1

Astoria

25-81 34th Street

$1,980 No Fee

1 |

1

Astoria

38-14 Astoria Boulevard S

$1,900 No Fee

1 |

1

Jamaica

152-09 88th Avenue

$2,400 No Fee

1 |

1

Jamaica

152-09 88th Avenue

$1,938 No Fee

Studio |

1

Astoria

34-26 41st Street

$2,300 No Fee

1 |

1

Woodhaven

88-28 75th Street

$2,200 No Fee

2 |

1

Forest Hills

105-05 69th Avenue

$1,875 No Fee

Studio |

1

Astoria

31-07 34th Avenue

$2,000 No Fee

Studio |

1

Astoria

26-15 25 Road

$2,250 No Fee

1 |

1

Oakland Gardens

67-40 223 Place

$2,500 No Fee

2 |

1

Oakland Gardens

67-40 223 Place

$2,300 No Fee

1 |

1

Are New Rent-Stabilized Apartments Being Built?

The short answer is “yes.”

“Changes to the inventory of rent-stabilized apartments are published every year by the NYC Rent Guidelines Board,” according to Sam Himmelstein, a tenants’ rights lawyer with Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph. About 10,000 rent-stabilized units were created in 2020 due to the 421-a program, which in simple terms is a real estate tax exemption for new construction. This program defers tax payments for developers that include a certain percentage of affordable housing units in a building. (A common split is 80/20, with affordable apartments in the minority. Abatements range in length — 10, 15, 20 years, etc. — and generally, the rent-stabilized status remains, even after those abatements expire.)

In addition, a small number of stabilized units are created due to the J-51 program, which is similar to 421-a but applies to buildings that have been renovated, as opposed to newly constructed. Still more rent-stabilized apartments are created when loft spaces are converted to contain multiple units, or when apartments leave the Mitchell-Lama program, a city- and state-run program for moderate and middle-income families.

How to Find a Rent-Stabilized Apartment in NYC

So, how do you find a rent-stabilized apartment in NYC?

“Renters can apply to win affordable apartments, which are mostly rent-stabilized, through the NYC housing lottery’s website, Housing Connect,” says Adjina Dekidjiev, a broker for Warburg Realty. Note that applicants must meet income requirements (these are capped) and that the application process requires significant documentation and often, time.

“You can also work with a real estate broker who can research them and might know about off-market apartments,” says Dekidjiev.

Exit mobile version