New York City tenants have some of the strongest housing protections in the country, and the NYC rent laws covering tenant rights set hard limits on how much a landlord can charge, how they can evict, and what condition the apartment has to be in. The rules come from a mix of state statutes and city codes, and they changed significantly with the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, the Good Cause Eviction Act of 2024, and the FARE Act of 2025.1NYC.gov. Protections for Rent-Regulated Tenants Which protections apply to you depends mostly on one question: is your apartment rent-regulated, or market-rate?
Is Your Apartment Rent-Regulated?
About one million apartments in the city are rent-stabilized. Stabilization generally applies to buildings with six or more units built between 1947 and 1974, and to newer buildings that receive tax benefits like 421-a, which requires market-rate units to be stabilized for the duration of the benefit.2Housing Preservation and Development. 421-a Before 2019, landlords could remove a unit from stabilization once the rent hit $2,774.76 and the apartment went vacant. That loophole is closed, so stabilized apartments now stay stabilized.1NYC.gov. Protections for Rent-Regulated Tenants
Rent control is a much older and smaller system. It covers buildings built before February 1, 1947, where a tenant has lived continuously since before July 1, 1971. The number of controlled units shrinks every year.3New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Rent Control
Everything else is market-rate. If you don’t know which category your apartment falls into, request the official rent history from the Division of Housing and Community Renewal. You can file the request online through the HCR portal, email rentinfo@nyshcr.org, or call 833-499-0343. DHCR will mail you the history. If no history exists, the apartment is almost certainly not stabilized.4NYC.gov. Rent Stabilization
How Much Your Rent Can Go Up
For stabilized apartments, the NYC Rent Guidelines Board sets the maximum renewal increase each year. For leases starting between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026, the cap is 3% on one-year renewals and 4.5% on two-year renewals.5Rent Guidelines Board. 2025-26 Apartment/Loft Order 57 The percentage swings significantly from year to year; one-year increases have ranged from a 0% freeze in 2015 and 2016 up to 4% in 2013.6Rent Guidelines Board. Apartment Orders 1 Through 51 A landlord can add more on top of the guideline for major capital improvements like a new boiler or for individual apartment improvements like a new kitchen, but both categories are now capped and the increases expire after 30 years rather than lasting forever.7New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Apartment (IAI) and Building (MCI) Improvements
Market-rate tenants used to have no cap at all. That changed on April 20, 2024, when Good Cause Eviction took effect. For apartments covered by the law, a rent increase above the “local rent standard” is presumed unreasonable, and a landlord has to justify it in court by showing significant repair costs or tax increases. The standard is the local inflation rate plus 5%, with a hard ceiling of 10%. In early 2025, with NYC inflation at 3.79%, the standard was 8.79%.8NYC Housing Preservation and Development. Good Cause Eviction
Good Cause has substantial exemptions. It does not cover:
- Buildings whose owner has 10 or fewer units statewide.
- Owner-occupied buildings with 10 or fewer units.
- Rent-stabilized or rent-controlled apartments (already protected under their own rules).
- Buildings with a certificate of occupancy issued on or after January 1, 2009.
- Condos, co-ops, and income-restricted housing.
- High-rent units above a threshold DHCR publishes each year.
- Subletters.
The 2009 construction cutoff carves out a large portion of newer market-rate buildings.9New York Attorney General. New York State Good Cause Eviction Law
Whatever category you’re in, state law requires written advance notice of any rent hike of 5% or more, or of non-renewal. The required notice depends on how long you’ve lived there:
- Less than one year: 30 days.
- One to two years: 60 days.
- More than two years: 90 days.
If the landlord misses the deadline, your current terms continue until the proper notice period runs from the day you actually get notified.10New York State Senate. New York Real Property Code 226-C – Notice of Rent Increase or Non-Renewal of Residential Tenancy
When a Landlord Can (and Can’t) Make You Leave
Rent-stabilized tenants have a statutory right to a renewal lease. A stabilized landlord can refuse to renew only in narrow situations, such as when the apartment isn’t your primary residence or the owner intends to occupy it personally.
Market-rate tenants covered by Good Cause now have a similar protection: the landlord needs a legitimate legal reason to refuse renewal or evict. Tenants outside Good Cause coverage (small-landlord buildings, post-2009 construction, and the other exempt categories) still face the older rule, under which a landlord can decline to renew without giving any reason as long as proper notice is given.8NYC Housing Preservation and Development. Good Cause Eviction
Retaliation is prohibited in nearly all cases. Under New York Real Property Law 223-b, a landlord cannot evict you, deny renewal, or impose an unreasonable increase in response to a good-faith complaint about health or safety, an effort to enforce your lease, or participation in a tenants’ group. If adverse action happens within one year of your protected activity, the law presumes retaliation and shifts the burden to the landlord to prove otherwise. Winning tenants can recover damages and attorney’s fees. The protection does not reach owner-occupied buildings with fewer than four units.11New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 223-B – Retaliation by Landlord Against Tenant
If the tenant on a rent-stabilized or rent-controlled lease dies or permanently moves out, certain family members and long-term occupants can take over the apartment. They have to have lived there as a primary residence for at least two years immediately before the tenant left, or one year if they are a senior or have a qualifying disability. “Family member” is read broadly and includes unmarried partners who can show a genuine emotional and financial commitment.12New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Succession
What a Landlord Can Charge at Move-In
State law caps the money a landlord can collect before you move in, and the caps apply regardless of your credit, income, or whether you have pets.
A security deposit cannot exceed one month’s rent. Any lease clause demanding more is unenforceable. When you move out, the landlord has 14 days to return the deposit in full or send an itemized statement of deductions. Missing that 14-day window forfeits the landlord’s right to keep anything.13New York State Senate. New York General Obligations Code 7-108 – Deposits Made by Tenants In buildings with six or more units, the deposit must sit in an interest-bearing account at a New York State bank, and the interest (minus a 1% annual administrative fee) belongs to you.14New York State Senate. New York General Obligations Code 7-103
Application and credit check fees are capped at $20, or the actual cost of the check if lower. If you hand over a copy of a credit or background report run within the past 30 days, the fee has to be waived. The landlord also owes you a copy of any report they pull.15New York State Senate. New York Real Property Code 238-A
The FARE Act, effective June 11, 2025, ended one of the city’s most expensive rental customs. A broker working for the landlord, or one who lists an apartment with the landlord’s permission, cannot charge the tenant a fee. Broker fees historically ran from one month’s rent to 15% of annual rent, so this change can save a new tenant several thousand dollars.16NYC311. Broker Fees
Late fees are limited too. Nothing can be charged until rent is more than five days overdue, and the fee cannot exceed $50 or 5% of monthly rent, whichever is less. For most NYC rents, that means $50.15New York State Senate. New York Real Property Code 238-A
Living Conditions Your Landlord Must Provide
Every residential lease in New York, written or oral, carries an implied warranty of habitability. The apartment has to be safe, livable, and free of hazardous conditions.17New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 235-B – Warranty of Habitability
The city’s Housing Maintenance Code puts specific numbers on this. During heat season (October 1 through May 31), indoor temperatures must stay at 68°F or above between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. when it’s below 55°F outside. Overnight, the minimum is 62°F regardless of outdoor temperature. Hot water must run at 120°F or higher year-round.18Housing Preservation and Development. Heat and Hot Water Information
If a child under six lives in the building, the owner must inspect annually for lead paint hazards and fix any peeling or deteriorating paint that tests positive.19Housing Preservation and Development. Lead-Based Paint Mold and pest problems fall under the habitability warranty as well, and a court can order rent reductions when a landlord ignores them.
Roommates and Subletting
New York Real Property Law 235-f gives every tenant the right to live with at least one additional person, plus that person’s dependent children, as long as the tenant keeps the apartment as their primary residence. Any lease clause banning roommates is unenforceable. You have to tell the landlord the roommate’s name within 30 days of move-in or within 30 days of being asked. When multiple tenants are named on a lease, the total number of occupants (not counting dependent children) can’t exceed the number of named tenants, but a roommate can fill the spot of a co-tenant who moves out.20New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 235-F – Unlawful Restrictions on Occupancy
Subletting takes more process. Send the landlord a written request by certified mail at least 30 days before the sublet starts, with the subtenant’s name, the term, and your reason. The landlord has 30 days to respond; silence counts as consent. A landlord cannot unreasonably refuse, and a bad-faith refusal can expose them to your attorney’s fees. Legitimate reasons for rejection, like the proposed subtenant’s weak credit, still work.21Rent Guidelines Board. Subletting FAQs
How to Push Back on an Overcharge
If you think your stabilized rent is higher than the legal limit, start by pulling the apartment’s rent history from DHCR. Compare what your landlord has registered year by year against what you’ve actually paid and the allowable guideline increases. If the numbers don’t line up, file an overcharge complaint using DHCR Form RA-89, with copies of your leases, rent receipts, cancelled checks, and any signed consents for apartment improvements.22New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Tenant’s Complaint of Rent and/or Other Specific Overcharges in a Rent Stabilized Apartment
DHCR generally looks back four years from the filing date, with longer reach in fraud cases. If the agency finds an overcharge, it can order the rent reduced and require a refund, plus interest, and treble damages when the overcharge was willful. For help reading your rent history or sorting out whether you have a case, call 311 and ask for the Tenant Helpline.4NYC.gov. Rent Stabilization