Rent stabilization works by capping how much a landlord can raise your rent each year and guaranteeing your right to renew your lease. In New York City, where roughly one million apartments are covered, a public board votes annually on the maximum percentage increase, and tenants gain protections against eviction without cause, overcharges, and harassment. The rules below describe the New York City system, which is the most fully developed in the country; a short section at the end addresses rent regulation in other states.
Which Apartments Are Covered
A New York City apartment is generally rent stabilized if it sits in a building with six or more units built before January 1, 1974.1Rent Guidelines Board. Rent Control FAQs Newer buildings can also qualify when the owner receives government tax incentives, such as the J-51 program for renovations or the 421-a program for new construction, that require stabilization in exchange for tax relief.2NYC.gov. 421-a Tax Incentive Those units stay stabilized for the length of the tax benefit, and sometimes longer.
If the building is sold, the new owner inherits every stabilization obligation. Your protections attach to the apartment, not to who holds the deed.
Before 2019, landlords could remove an apartment from stabilization once the rent crossed a certain dollar threshold or when a high-earning tenant moved out. The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) permanently ended both pathways. Apartments now remain stabilized regardless of how high the rent climbs, unless the building’s tax benefit program specifically allows deregulation upon vacancy.3NYC.gov. Rent Stabilization
How Much Your Rent Can Go Up Each Year
Each year the New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) sets the maximum percentage a landlord can raise the rent on a stabilized apartment, with separate rates for one-year and two-year renewals. For leases starting between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026, the approved increases are 3% for a one-year lease and 4.5% for a two-year lease.4Rent Guidelines Board. 2025-26 Apartment/Loft Order 57 The same guideline percentages apply to both renewal leases and vacancy leases, meaning the first lease signed by a new tenant on a stabilized unit.5Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Fact Sheet 26 – Guide to Rent Increases for Rent Stabilized Apartments
The HSTPA also eliminated the old 20% vacancy bonus that landlords used to add when a previous tenant moved out. A landlord filling a vacant stabilized unit can now apply only the RGB guideline increase, nothing more.
Your Lease Renewal Rights
Your landlord must offer you a lease renewal in writing. In New York City, that offer has to arrive no earlier than 150 days and no later than 90 days before your current lease expires. Once you receive it, you have 60 days to choose between a one-year or two-year term, sign, and return it.6Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Fact Sheet 04 – Lease Renewal in Rent Stabilized Apartments If the offer arrives late, the landlord cannot collect any rent increase, and you stay in the apartment under the expiring lease terms until a proper offer is made.
A landlord can refuse to renew only in narrow circumstances. The most common are that the owner intends to use the unit as their own primary residence, or that you are not using it as your primary residence. If the landlord claims non-primary residence, they must give you between 90 and 150 days’ advance notice of intent not to renew, plus a separate 30-day termination notice, though the two can be combined into a single document.7Rent Guidelines Board. Primary Residence FAQs A refusal without proper legal grounds can be challenged through the state housing agency.
Preferential Rent
Some landlords voluntarily charge less than the maximum legal rent. The lower amount you actually pay is called a preferential rent; the higher amount the landlord could legally charge is the legal regulated rent. Before 2019, landlords could jump you back up to the legal regulated rent at renewal time. The HSTPA changed that. If you were paying a preferential rent on or after June 14, 2019, your landlord must keep charging that lower rent for as long as you stay in the apartment.8Homes and Community Renewal. Fact Sheet 40 – Preferential Rents
RGB guideline increases and other lawful increases still apply, but they are calculated against the preferential rent, not the higher legal figure. The landlord can charge the full legal regulated rent only after you permanently move out and a new tenant takes over.8Homes and Community Renewal. Fact Sheet 40 – Preferential Rents
Extra Increases for Improvements
Beyond the annual guideline, landlords can seek additional rent increases to recoup the cost of significant property upgrades. These fall into two categories, and both are now temporary under HSTPA.
Major Capital Improvements
A Major Capital Improvement (MCI) is a building-wide upgrade that benefits all tenants, such as a new boiler, windows, roofing, plumbing, or electrical rewiring.9Homes and Community Renewal. Apartment (IAI) and Building (MCI) Improvements The landlord must apply to the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) for approval before passing any costs to tenants. If approved, the increase is capped at 2% of your current rent per year, phased in gradually. After 30 years, the MCI increase is removed from the rent entirely.5Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Fact Sheet 26 – Guide to Rent Increases for Rent Stabilized Apartments
You have the right to challenge an MCI application during DHCR’s review. Common objections include disputing whether the work was actually completed, whether it qualifies as a major improvement rather than routine maintenance, and whether the costs were inflated.
Individual Apartment Improvements
An Individual Apartment Improvement (IAI) applies to work done inside a specific unit, such as kitchen renovations, new flooring, updated appliances, or additional living space.10New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Operational Bulletin 2024-2 Revised – Individual Apartment Improvements The landlord divides the total cost over a set number of months (12 years for buildings with 35 or fewer units, 12.5 years for larger buildings) to calculate the monthly increase. Like an MCI, the increase is temporary and must be removed after 30 years.
Succession Rights for Family Members
If you are the named tenant on a stabilized lease and you pass away or permanently leave, a qualifying family member who lived with you can take over the lease. That family member must have resided in the apartment as their primary home for at least two years immediately before your departure. For family members who are 62 or older, or who have a disability, the required period drops to one year.11Homes and Community Renewal. Succession
“Family member” extends beyond traditional blood or legal relationships. A person who can show emotional and financial commitment to the household may qualify as a non-traditional family member. Courts and the DHCR weigh factors such as the length of the relationship, whether you shared expenses and bank accounts, whether you made legal commitments like wills or powers of attorney, and whether you held yourselves out as family in everyday life. A child who was never added to the lease can still assert succession rights, as long as they meet the residency requirement.12Rent Guidelines Board. Succession Rights FAQs
Deposits, Late Fees, and the Rent Registration
HSTPA limits security deposits for any apartment, including rent-stabilized units, to one month’s rent. Your landlord cannot ask for additional money from you, a guarantor, or any third party beyond that single month.13Homes and Community Renewal. Renting an Apartment – Security Deposits and Other Charges
Late fees are permitted only if your original vacancy lease included a late-fee clause. Even then, the fee cannot exceed the lesser of $50 or 5% of your monthly rent.14Rent Guidelines Board. Miscellaneous FAQs
Landlords of rent-stabilized buildings must file an annual rent registration with DHCR by July 31, listing the legal regulated rent for every stabilized unit, and must give you a copy of the registration for your apartment.15Homes and Community Renewal. Rent Registration Checking the registration is one of the simplest ways to confirm that what you are being charged matches what the landlord reported to the state.
How to Challenge an Overcharge or a Missing Renewal
If you believe your landlord is overcharging you or refusing to offer a proper renewal, you can file a complaint with DHCR’s Office of Rent Administration. Two forms cover the most common problems:
- Form RA-89, for when you believe you are being charged more than the legal regulated rent.
- Form RA-90, for when your landlord has failed to offer a lease renewal or failed to provide a signed copy of the lease.
Both can be submitted online through the DHCR portal or mailed to the agency.16Homes and Community Renewal. Tenant/Owner Forms Once you file, DHCR investigates and typically requests financial records, rent registration history, and maintenance documentation from the landlord. The burden falls on the owner to prove the rent charged is legally permissible.
Overcharge complaints generally cover a six-year lookback period, meaning DHCR can examine your rent history going back six years from the filing date.5Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Fact Sheet 26 – Guide to Rent Increases for Rent Stabilized Apartments If the agency finds an overcharge, it can order the landlord to reduce your rent and refund the excess. When the overcharge is willful, DHCR can impose treble damages, requiring the landlord to pay you three times the amount overcharged.17Homes and Community Renewal. Rent Increases and Rent Overcharge
Rent Regulation Outside New York City
Rent stabilization as described above is a New York City regime. Other states and cities have their own, and the rules differ.
- Oregon was the first state to pass a statewide rent cap. Landlords generally cannot raise rent more than 7% plus the consumer price index (CPI) per year, with a maximum of 10%. For 2026, the cap is 9.5% for most covered rentals. The limit does not apply during the first year of a new tenancy.18Oregon Department of Administrative Services. Rent Stabilization
- California’s Tenant Protection Act caps annual increases on covered properties at 5% plus the local CPI, with a hard ceiling of 10%.
- New Jersey has no statewide rent control, but over 100 individual cities and towns have adopted local ordinances.
- Washington, D.C. limits rent increases on covered units, with different caps for elderly and disabled tenants.
Several additional states, including Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington, let local governments pass their own rent control ordinances. If you rent outside New York City, check the specific rules for your city or county before assuming any of the protections above apply to you.