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

Midtown

254 West 51st Street

$2,128 base rent

Studio |

1

East Harlem

131 East 110th Street

$2,300 base rent

1 |

1

Inwood

9 Seaman Avenue

$2,200 base rent

1 |

1

Lenox Hill

1322 Second Avenue

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

1

Inwood

83 Park Terrace West

$2,450 base rent

2 |

1

East Harlem

320 East 126th Street

$1,821 base rent

Studio |

1

Central Harlem

211 West 146th Street

$2,025 base rent

Studio |

1

Fort George

64 Hillside Avenue

$1,925 base rent

Studio |

1

East Harlem

161 East 99th Street

$2,495 base rent

1 |

1

South Harlem

217 West 123rd Street

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

1

Inwood

251 Seaman Avenue

$2,400 base rent

1 |

1

Central Harlem

102 West 134th Street

$2,080 base rent

1 |

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.

Midwood

870 East 28th Street

$2,000 base rent

1 |

1

Fort Hamilton

8614 Third Avenue

$1,900 base rent

1 |

1

Flatbush

940 New York Avenue

$2,025 base rent

Studio |

1

East Flatbush

3513 Newkirk Avenue

$1,850 base rent

1 |

1

Brownsville

2057 Strauss Street

$2,400 base rent

Studio |

1

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

423 Fenimore Street

$2,200 base rent

1 |

1

East Flatbush

3420 Newkirk Avenue

$1,758 base rent

1 |

1

Ditmas Park

610 East 16th Street

$2,399 base rent

Studio |

1

Prospect Park South

354 Ocean Avenue

$2,350 base rent

2 |

1

Fort Hamilton

8614 Third Avenue

$2,000 base rent

2 |

1

Greenwood

168 22nd Street

$1,900 base rent

1 |

1

Bushwick

13 Palmetto Street

$2,170 base rent

1 |

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.

Astoria

34-05 34th Street

$2,300 base rent

1 |

1

Astoria

31-46 45th Street

$2,175 base rent

Studio |

1

Ditmars-Steinway

22-60 27th Street

$2,250 base rent

Studio |

1

Kew Gardens Hills

150-43 75th Avenue

$2,410 base rent

2 |

1

Ditmars-Steinway

20-64 21st Street

$2,475 base rent

1 |

2

North Corona

34-02 106th Street

$2,050 base rent

1 |

1

Jamaica

92-29 Guy R Brewer Boulevard

$2,417 base rent

1 |

1

Elmhurst

89-50 56th Avenue

$1,650 base rent

Studio |

1

Sunnyside

48-15 43rd Avenue

$2,295 base rent

1 |

1

Elmhurst

92-16 Whitney Avenue

$2,485 base rent

1 |

1

Briarwood

141-35 Pershing Crescent

$2,400 base rent

1 |

1

Kew Gardens

115-25 84th Avenue

$2,200 base rent

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.

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