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If you are the lease-signing tenant on a 485-x affordable unit, a 467-m affordable unit, an Inclusionary Housing unit, or a traditional rent-stabilized apartment, you are protected by New York State’s rent stabilization system. This is one of the strongest tenant-protection frameworks in the United States. This guide covers the rights that matter day-to-day and the agencies that enforce them.
Rent stabilization basics
Rent stabilization is a New York State regulatory system that limits how much and how often landlords can raise rent on covered apartments. The Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) sets allowable rent increase percentages each year. For the current period:
- RGB Order #57, covering October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, permits 3.0% on a 1-year lease and 4.5% on a 2-year lease.
- RGB Order #58 for the 2026–2027 period has not been issued as of the time of writing. It will be voted on in June 2026.
These caps apply only at lease renewal. Your rent does not change mid-lease.
Lease renewal — your choice of term
When your lease is up, the landlord must offer you a renewal — and you, not the landlord, choose between a 1-year and a 2-year term. The rules:
- The landlord must offer the renewal 150 to 90 days before the current lease expires.
- The offer must be made by certified mail or personal delivery.
- You have 60 days to sign and return the renewal.
- A 1-year renewal uses the RGB’s 1-year rate; a 2-year renewal uses the 2-year rate. The 2-year rate is higher but locks in the terms for longer.
If the landlord does not offer a renewal in the required window, you can file a complaint with the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) using Form RA-90 or RA-90 ETPA.
Succession rights
Rent-stabilized leases can transfer to qualifying family members or long-term household members when the lease-holder moves out or passes away. This is called succession and is governed by DHCR Fact Sheet #30.
Who can succeed:
- Traditional family: spouse, child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, in-laws.
- Non-traditional family: a person with emotional and financial interdependence on the lease-holder. The relationship does not need to be sexual or romantic, and the rules explicitly do not require evidence of a sexual relationship.
Residency requirement:
- 2 years of primary residence immediately before the lease-holder vacates, or
- 1 year if the successor is age 62 or older or is disabled.
You can proactively file Form RA-23.5 with DHCR to establish your intent to succeed — this creates a documentary record before the issue becomes urgent.
Successors are entitled to a renewal lease at the same regulated rent, without any vacancy increase.
485-x and 467-m — permanent protection
Units designated as affordable in 485-x, 467-m, and UAP buildings are permanently rent-stabilized. They remain stabilized even after the tax benefit period ends. Specifically:
- 485-x affordable units: rent-stabilized during the 35- or 40-year restriction period AND after it ends, permanently.
- 467-m affordable units: rent-stabilized during the 25- to 35-year benefit period AND permanently afterward.
- UAP affordable units: rent-stabilized permanently.
This is a material improvement over the legacy 421-a program, under which affordability and stabilization expired with the tax benefit.
Your rent, in an affordable unit, was set at the AMI band minus three percentage points at initial occupancy. Annual RGB increases apply from that baseline. There is no vacancy bonus — when an affordable unit turns over, the next tenant’s rent is capped at the same AMI-adjusted maximum.
Preferential rent
If your landlord gave you an initial rent lower than the legal regulated rent — what’s called a “preferential rent” — HSTPA 2019 changed the rules significantly. Your preferential rent is now the rent for the duration of your tenancy. The landlord cannot revoke it at renewal and charge you the higher “legal” rent.
When you move out and the apartment becomes vacant, the landlord may revert to the legal regulated rent for the next tenant. But your rent cannot be raised beyond RGB limits during your tenancy.
Security deposit
Under HSTPA 2019, security deposits are capped at one month’s rent. If your landlord asks for more than that — two months, last month’s rent, or any similar excess — they are violating state law. You can recover the overage through DHCR or Housing Court.
Effective November 15, 2025, new tenant rights on security deposit returns further tightened the rules, including specific timeframes for return and mandatory itemization of any withholdings for damage. Contact the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) or DHCR if your deposit is not returned appropriately at move-out.
Warranty of habitability
Every lease in New York includes an implied warranty of habitability under NY Real Property Law §235-b. This warrants that your apartment will be fit for human habitation, that its conditions will not be dangerous or detrimental to life, health, or safety, and that the landlord will maintain common areas.
This warranty cannot be waived in your lease. A lease that purports to waive it is not enforceable. If your landlord fails to maintain the apartment — chronic lack of heat, persistent leaks, pest infestations, broken essential systems — you have grounds for:
- A rent reduction complaint under DHCR Fact Sheet #14 (reduced services).
- A harassment complaint (Form RA-60H) with DHCR’s Enforcement and Compliance Unit.
- A Housing Court action.
SCRIE and DRIE — for seniors and tenants with disabilities
If you are 62 or older, the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) freezes your rent at its current amount — the city covers the rent increase through a landlord tax credit. You qualify if:
- At least one tenant on the lease is 62 or older.
- Household income is $50,000 or less.
- You pay more than one-third of your income in rent.
- You are named on the lease and your apartment is rent-regulated.
The Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) offers the same benefit to tenants age 18 or older with a qualifying disability (SSI, SSDI, VA disability, or Medicaid-eligible disability), on the same income and rent criteria. Both SCRIE and DRIE apply to 485-x, 467-m, and traditional rent-stabilized apartments.
Standard rent-stabilized SCRIE/DRIE is administered by the Department of Finance. Mitchell-Lama and HDFC versions are administered by HPD.
DHCR complaint forms
The main forms for rent-stabilization tenant complaints:
- Form RA-89 / RA-89C: overcharge complaints.
- Form RA-90 / RA-90 ETPA: failure to offer a renewal lease.
- Form RA-60H: harassment complaints.
- Form RA-22.1: non-compliance with a prior DHCR order.
- Fact Sheet #14: rent reductions for decreased services.
File online through DHCR’s Rent Connect portal or by mail. The process is free. DHCR has statewide jurisdiction.
Where to get help
Navigating rent stabilization is easier with professional help. Free legal assistance and counseling:
- NYC HRA Office of Civil Justice — Universal Access to Counsel: free legal representation for tenants in Housing Court. Many courts have tenant counsel desks on-site.
- Legal Aid Society, Legal Services NYC, Mobilization for Justice, Urban Justice Center: free civil legal services.
- Housing Court Answers: free information and referrals at housingcourtanswers.org.
- NYC Commission on Human Rights: for discrimination complaints, including source-of-income discrimination against voucher holders — 311 or 212-416-0197.
- DHCR Office of Rent Administration: 833-499-0343 for rent stabilization questions.
Document everything. Keep copies of all leases, all correspondence with your landlord, all rent receipts, and all requests for repairs. If a dispute arises, documentation is your strongest tool.
