If you’re looking for information about affordable apartments, you’ve probably heard the terms “rent-regulated,” “rent-controlled,” and “rent-stabilized.” But you may be wondering, what do these terms mean? Our guide to rent-stabilized apartments in NYC walks you through the history of rent regulation, the difference between rent control and rent stabilization, and recent changes to the New York rent laws. And most importantly, it gives you actionable tips on how to land a rent-stabilized apartment in NYC. Pssst, at the end of the article, we share how to find rent-stabilized units on StreetEasy.

Manhattan Rentals on StreetEasy Under $2,500 Article continues below

Manhattan Valley

7 West 103rd Street

$2,100 No Fee

Studio |

1

Manhattan Valley

946 Columbus Avenue

$2,470 No Fee

Studio |

1

Manhattan Valley

166 West 107th Street

$2,279 No Fee

1 |

1

Manhattan Valley

953 Columbus Avenue

$2,500 No Fee

1 |

1

Manhattan Valley

2790 Broadway

$2,200 No Fee

Studio |

1

Manhattan Valley

951 Amsterdam Avenue

$2,275 No Fee

Studio |

1

Manhattan Valley

943 Columbus Avenue

$2,450 No Fee

1 |

1

A Brief History of Rent Regulation

Rent-controlled and rent-stabilized apartments have been an important part of New York City’s housing stock for decades. Rent regulation dates back to the 1940s when President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted the Emergency Price Control Act to prevent landlords from imposing “intolerable” rent increases on tenants. Over the years, however, rent-regulation laws have changed substantially. Now, state and local governments oversee their regulation, rather than the federal government. And despite frequent — and sometimes contentious — changes to the law, housing advocates continue to support rent regulation as a means to ensure a fair and affordable rental market.

Manhattan Rentals Under $2,700 on StreetEasy Article continues below

Hell’s Kitchen

554 West 50th Street

$2,276 No Fee

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1

Central Harlem

252 West 149th Street

$2,225 No Fee

2 |

1

Yorkville

401 East 89th Street

$2,475 No Fee

1 |

1

South Harlem

115 West 117th Street

$2,500 No Fee

Studio |

1.5

Hell’s Kitchen

537 West 49th Street

$2,300 No Fee

1 |

1

Yorkville

306 East 83rd Street

$2,200 No Fee

1 |

1

Upper West Side

148 West 80th Street

$2,500 No Fee

1 |

1

East Harlem

334 East 105th Street

$2,500 No Fee

2 |

1

East Harlem

340 East 105th Street

$2,500 No Fee

2 |

1

Fort George

480 West 187th Street

$1,850 No Fee

1 |

1

Lower East Side

98 Orchard Street

$2,640 No Fee

1 |

1

Lower East Side

150 Orchard Street

$2,450 No Fee

Studio |

1

Are Rent Regulated Units Different From Other Types of Affordable Housing?

Put simply, yes. Unlike housing lotteries, rent-regulated tenants are not subject to income restrictions or household size requirements. So, in a nutshell, any tenant who can find a rent-regulated unit can rent it as long as they meet standard income requirements (40 times rent rule) for leasing. Find out how much rent you can afford.

Brooklyn Rentals Under $2,500 on StreetEasy Article continues below

Flatbush

561 East 26th Street

$2,500 No Fee

2 |

1

Bushwick

287 Cornelia Street

$2,175 No Fee

1 |

1

Flatbush

1471 Nostrand Avenue

$2,400 No Fee

1 |

1

Midwood

1792 Ocean Avenue

$2,429 No Fee

1 |

1

Flatbush

286 Linden Boulevard

$2,495 No Fee

1 |

1

Williamsburg

53 Graham Avenue

$2,400 No Fee

1 |

1

Prospect Heights

195 Underhill Avenue

$2,498 No Fee

Studio |

1

Crown Heights

2303A Pacific Street

$2,350 No Fee

2 |

1

Bushwick

820 Wyckoff Avenue

$2,495 No Fee

1 |

1

East Flatbush

824 East New York Avenue

$2,400 No Fee

1 |

1

Prospect Park South

1620 Caton Avenue

$2,395 No Fee

Studio |

1

Williamsburg

314 Bedford Avenue

$2,300 No Fee

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1

What Is a Rent-Controlled Apartment?

Rent regulation protects tenants from exorbitant increases in rent. In New York state, there are two forms of rent regulation: rent control and rent stabilization.

Rent control applies to apartments in buildings built before 1947 — and there’s a twist. The tenant, or legal successor, must have continuously lived in the unit dating back to July 1, 1971. The only way a rent-controlled unit changes hands is through family members or successors. When the tenant of record dies, a family member or successor who has lived in the apartment with the tenant for the two years (or one year if the successor is over 65 years old) before the tenant’s death may be entitled to their own tenancy. 

Queens Rentals Under $2,500 on StreetEasy Article continues below

Briarwood

142-10 Hoover Avenue

$1,750 No Fee

Studio |

1

Elmhurst

90-02 Queens Boulevard

$2,500 No Fee

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1

Glendale

65-05 Central Avenue

$2,100 No Fee

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1

Astoria

25-21 31st Avenue

$2,350 No Fee

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1

Astoria

28-23 42nd Street

$1,812 No Fee

1 |

1

Sunnyside

45-56 42nd Street

$2,375 No Fee

1 |

1

Jamaica Estates

87-01 Midland Parkway

$1,675 No Fee

Studio |

1

Astoria

34-50 28th Street

$1,487 No Fee

Studio |

1

Beechhurst

160-40 13th Avenue

$1,700 No Fee

1 |

1

Forest Hills

75-37 113rd Street

$2,150 No Fee

1 |

1

Rockaway Park

117-12 Ocean Promenade

$1,799 No Fee

1 |

1

Astoria

34-30 42nd Street

$2,400 No Fee

2 |

1

What Is a Rent-Stabilized Apartment?

Rent-stabilized apartments are typically in buildings built before 1974 and have more than six units. Also, there are buildings constructed after 1974 that are rent-stabilized thanks to certain tax abatements. Occasionally you may hear of a rent-stabilized unit in a co-op building. Apartments like these are rented by tenants who lived in the building before the conversion.

Rent Increases in Rent-Controlled Units

Every rent-controlled apartment in New York City has a maximum base rent, increasing every two years to factor in the landlord’s operating costs. The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) determines a maximum base rent and a maximum collectible rent for rent-controlled apartments, with adjustments made every two years to reflect changes in the landlord’s operating costs.  To qualify for the rent increases, a landlord must demonstrate that there are no outstanding violations on the building and provide all essential services to the tenants, including but not limited to heat and hot water. 

Reasons to justify increases in operating costs could include the cost of fuel, additional building services, and improvements in the building’s or apartment’s infrastructure. Tenants in rent-controlled apartments may challenge the proposed increases if the building has outstanding violations or proves the costs of the building improvements do not merit the increase.

Rent Increases in Rent-Stabilized Units

Tenants in rent-stabilized apartments have several rights that those in market-rate apartments do not. For example, rent increases are set each year by the Rent Guidelines Board, which means a landlord can raise the rent only by a certain percentage when renewing the lease. For leases starting on or after October 1, 2022, and on or before September 30, 2023, the increases are as follows:

• 1-year lease: 3.25%
• 2-year lease: 5% 

Guidelines are updated each year. Additional benefits afforded to rent-stabilized tenants are the right to a lease renewal each year and protections against arbitrary evictions.

Bronx Rentals Under $2,500 on StreetEasy Article continues below

North New York

466 East 143rd Street

$1,850 No Fee

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1

North New York

417 East 135th Street

$2,275 No Fee

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1

University Heights

30 West 181st Street

$2,375 No Fee

2 |

1

Norwood

3291 Hull Avenue

$1,700 No Fee

1 |

1

Morris Heights

54 West 174th Street

$1,895 No Fee

1 |

1

Kingsbridge Heights

2737 Webb Avenue

$1,595 No Fee

1 |

1

Woodstock

725 Southern Boulevard

$1,750 No Fee

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1

Kingsbridge Heights

3344 Fort Independence Street

$2,200 No Fee

Studio |

1

Fieldston

6255 Broadway

$2,100 No Fee

1 |

1

Mott Haven

276 Grand Concourse

$2,209 No Fee

1 |

1

Mott Haven

276 Grand Concourse

$2,332 No Fee

1 |

1

Mott Haven

276 Grand Concourse

$2,356 No Fee

1 |

1

Recent Changes for Rent-Stabilized and Rent-Controlled Apartments

Previously, a rent-stabilized unit could become a market-rate unit once its legal rent exceeded the deregulation threshold (most recently $2,774), and either the tenant vacated the apartment (High Rent Vacancy Deregulation) or the landlord could demonstrate that the tenant’s income surpassed $200,000 for two consecutive years (Luxury Deregulation).

In 2019, things changed. Under the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA), both High Rent Vacancy Deregulation and Luxury Deregulation were repealed. The new law also modified the use of preferential rents. Historically, some tenants in rent-stabilized apartments in NYC paid a preferential rent, essentially a rate lower than the full legal rent that a landlord could legally charge. The problem for tenants was that landlords could eliminate these lower rents upon lease renewal. As a result, tenants could face severe rent hikes. The HSTPA mandated that landlords could no longer eliminate the preferential rent on renewal. Alternatively, the preferential rent remains the base rent for that tenant until they vacate the apartment. The preferential rent can be increased annually pursuant to the rent increases set forth by the Rent Guidelines Board.  

Additionally, the HSTPA eliminated mechanisms for the landlord to increase legal rent up to 20% between tenancies.

Financial Impact of Renovations on Rent-Stabilized Apartments

Landlords can increase tenants’ rent by making capital improvements to the building. The rent increase is calculated by DHCR based on the total cost of improvements and the number of rent-regulated tenants in the building. Prior to the HSTPA, landlords were able to increase legal rent by as much as 6% however the increase is now capped at 2%. Landlords can also increase the legal rent by making improvements to the individual apartment. Before the HSTPA, this increase was calculated as 1/60 (or 1/40 in buildings with less than 35 units) of the total renovation cost. Now, landlords can only charge tenants fees of up to approximately $89 per month for improvements and renovations to individual units.

Tips on How to Find a Rent-Stabilized Apartment in NYC

Although there are roughly more than a million rent-stabilized apartments in New York City, they can be very hard to find. The reason is simple: Once someone lands one, they are unlikely to give it up. Here are some ways to find rent-stabilized apartments:

• Get a list of rent-stabilized buildings. The Rent Guidelines site has a list for all five boroughs.
• Search a specific neighborhood. Although you can find rent-stabilized apartments all across the city, some neighborhoods have more than others. These include Washington Heights, Inwood, and Crown Heights.
• Search on StreetEasy using the advanced search options. You can search for rent-stabilized apartments in NYC on StreetEasy by entering “rent-stabilized” into the description field.

Benefits of Rent-Stabilized Apartments in NYC

In addition to the locked-in affordability factor, there are some other benefits of rent stabilization as well. These include:

Updates and improvements: As a tenant of a rent-stabilized apartment, you have the right to occupy a working, updated apartment. If your landlord fails to make proper updates to your apartment, you can file a complaint with the New York State Office of Homes and Community Renewal and ask for a reduction in rent until your landlord makes the required modifications.

Subletting: Tenants of rent-stabilized apartments may sublet their apartment, as long as the apartment is their primary residence.

Lease renewal rights: You can renew your lease every year or every two years. 

Protection against bankruptcy: Even if they go bankrupt, tenants of rent-stabilized apartments still have rights to their units.

[This post has been updated and republished.]