What you need to know about rent-stabilized apartments in New York City 

Finding a rent stabilized apartment can be a difficult task in New York City. With rent prices skyrocketing, renters are searching for rent stabilized apartments now more than ever. Rent stabilized apartments, unlike market rate apartments, have an annual rent that can only legally be increased by a set percentage, which is typically very low. Additionally, in many cases you are legally entitled to an automatic lease renewal. 

In efforts to preserve affordable housing in New York City, the rent stabilization program was put into place. In 2019, there were additional protections put into place under the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act. These protections serve to make it more difficult for landlords to remove affordable apartments out of the rent stabilization program. For example, reforms were made in order to end “vacancy decontrol”, which allowed landlords to remove apartments from the rent stabilization program once tenants vacated the unit and the rent exceeded a certain threshold. 

Rent stabilized apartments make up about 44 percent of New York City’s total rental apartments. While this may seem like a lot, these apartments tend to get snatched up quickly, and their tenants tend to stay put. It may be difficult to find a rent stabilized apartment, but it is not impossible. Here are some of the ins and outs of the program that will help you find an apartment: 

1. What makes an apartment rent-stabilized? 

Any apartment in a building with six or more apartment units that was built prior to July 1st, 1974 and has not been “substantially rehabilitated” is likely to be rent stabilized, however there may be some exceptions to this so it is always important to double check by doing research on the apartment. Rent stabilized apartments may also be found in newer buildings that receive tax benefits in order to provide rent stabilized apartments. 

Typically, in order to find a rent stabilized apartment, you have to be vigorously searching, however it is possible to stumble across one occasionally on listings sites. 

Once you have found an apartment that has been stated as rent stabilized, the first thing you should do is ensure that the rent charged for the apartment is the legal rent. In order to find this, you can request the apartment’s rent history from DHCR. This will show you every time the landlord has increased the rent on the apartment and why. There are a number of ways landlords can try to illegally remove an apartment from rent stabilization, so be sure to do your research. 

It is also possible for you to challenge the status of your apartment. If you have already signed a lease on a market rate apartment, but you believe that the apartment should be rent stabilized, you may be able to prove the apartment has been illegally deregulated, in which case you will have your rent rolled back. 

Unfortunately, landlords cannot be trusted to provide accurate information on the status of the apartment. In fact, they may feed you misinformation, which is why it is best to do your own research in order to find out whether or not an apartment is rent stabilized. 

2. How are rent-stabilized apartments maintained? 

Previous to the 2019 amendments, landlords raised the rent in rent stabilized apartments for building and apartment renovations. This was done to the point where they could take the apartment out of the rent stabilization program. Now, however, this is illegal, however this has come with its own downsides. With the limitations on raising rent for building and apartment renovations, landlords are less incentivized to remodel and make renovations. 

Most rent stabilized apartments are in older buildings, meaning both the apartments and the building itself may require repairs and maintenance often. Unfortunately, landlords tend to skimp out on these repairs for tenants who are not paying market rate rent prices. In fact, they may go as far as to sabotage their own building in hopes to drive out rent stabilized tenants. 

In order to continue to incentivize landlords, there have been tax breaks put into place that allow developers to build affordable housing units in new apartment buildings. You can apply for these apartments through the affordable housing lottery which is known as the NYC Housing Connect. There is also a tax break known as the J-51 property tax abatement to incentivize landlords of existing apartment buildings. This tax break is given to landlords in order to significantly rehabilitate their building or convert a building from another use. 

Unfortunately, tax breaks expire in anywhere from 10 to 35 years. Once the tax break expires, the apartment is no longer rent stabilized. However, your landlord must follow the proper guidelines for alerting tenants about this change, otherwise you are entitled to stay in your apartment, and it will remain rent stabilized. 

3. How much does rent go up by each year? 

The Rent Guidelines Board is a city agency that meets once a year in order to vote on annual rent increases for both one- and two-year leases. Your rent may also increase due to the Major Capital Improvements, which is when the landlord makes upgrades to the building such as installing new elevators or water tanks. As of the 2019 changes to rent laws, rent increases have been capped at 2 percent per year, an improvement to previous years that were capped at 6 percent. In order for the landlord to increase your rent due to Major Capital Improvements, they must apply to DHCR to have the MCI approved. You are, however, allowed to challenge the application. 

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that a rent stabilized apartment will be cheaper than their market rate counterparts. Occasionally, landlords will charge a preferential rent that is lower than what is allowed. This is the case when the legal rent is too expensive for the location of the apartment. However, once a landlord agrees to charge a preferential rent, they must continue to provide a preferential rent rate for the entirety of the tenant’s stay. 

4. Income is not a factor in rent-stabilized apartments 

Unlike most affordable housing programs in New York City, there are no income restrictions for residents looking for a rent stabilized apartment. While the landlord will want to ensure you earn enough money to pay the rent, your earnings will not determine your eligibility for the apartment. 

5. What are the benefits of a rent-stabilized lease? 

However, in order to get this sense of security, you must first understand your rights. For example, if your landlord is looking to evict you from your apartment, they must do so legally. This means that 90 to 150 days prior to your lease expiring, they must either offer you a lease renewal or a notice of non-renewal. With this notice, they must also provide valid reason to not renew your lease, such as if they plan on giving the unit to a family member. 

If you do not receive either document 90 to 150 days prior to your lease expiration, then you are covered by the protections of rent stabilization and your landlord cannot legally increase your rent until your lease is renewed. While it may benefit you to not renew the lease, you may file a complaint with DHCR to help get your landlord’s attention and speed up the process. 

Thankfully, rent laws have even made it more difficult for a landlord to evict you, even if they are looking to use the apartment to house their own family members. Previously, landlords could evict as many tenants as they pleased in order to house family members. However, now they are limited to one apartment per building, and they are required to prove immediate and compelling necessity for the unit. 

Lastly, if you have been a tenant for 15 years or more and you are being evicted in order for the landlord to house their family member(s), they are legally required to relocate you to a superior or equivalent rent stabilized apartment that is located near the building you are being evicted from. If you are evicted from your apartment and find that the landlord’s family is not in fact occupying the apartment, you may sue for fraud. 

6. You may be evicted if the unit is not your primary residence 

If a landlord suspects that the unit is not your primary residence, they may be able to take you to court in order to evict you. In court, they are able to gain access to your bank statements, credit card records, flight records, and much more. This is all to help convince the judge that you live elsewhere and should be evicted. Typically, you must be present in the apartment at least 50 percent of the time in order to stand a chance against eviction. 

In order to help your case, you may want to show paperwork such as voter registration or tax filings. These will show that the apartment is your primary residence and help the court look favorable on you. However, since 2019, it has become significantly less likely for landlords to pursue these cases. This is because even if the tenant is evicted, landlords cannot deregulate the unit, meaning there is little to no incentive to pursue these cases. 

7. Who can you add to the lease? 

The only person you are able to add to an existing rent stabilized lease that is able to share in all of the benefits and responsibilities of the apartment is a spouse. However, if you choose to leave the apartment, you may hand it over to a family member who has previously been living with you as their primary residence for a minimum of two years.