Rent Increases in New York City: What Are My Rights?

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Your landlord cannot raise your rent any way they want in New York City. The rules depend on whether your apartment is rent stabilized, meaning covered by yearly legal limits. This guide shows how to check your status, the current yearly limits, and how to report an overcharge. It also covers notice and the Good Cause Eviction law for market rate apartments. For notice periods and retaliation rules, see the New York state guide.

  1. Most NYC apartments follow 1 of 2 sets of rent increase rules. If your apartment is rent stabilized (a program that limits rent increases), your rent can only go up by a set amount each year. Maybe your apartment is unregulated (not covered by those rent limit rules), also called market rate. Then no law sets a fixed cap on the new rent when your lease ends. But your landlord must follow notice rules first. A smaller group of about 24,000 rent controlled apartments follows older rules.

    City of New York Step 2: Check if your rent is regulated

  2. Your apartment might be rent stabilized (a program that limits rent increases) without you knowing it. Almost 1 million NYC apartments are rent stabilized (part of that program). Check your lease first. Look for the words rent stabilized (a program that limits rent increases) or rent stabilization (the same program) in your lease.

    City of New York Step 3: Learn about rent increases for unregulated rentals

  3. Ask New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) for your apartment's rent history. Use HCR's online form and pick "Apartment rent history" as the reason. Or call HCR's Office of Rent Administration at 1 (833) 499-0343. HCR mails the answer to your apartment in about 20 business days. The rent history shows if your apartment was ever rent stabilized (a program that limits rent increases). It also shows what rents your landlord reported over the years.

    City of New York How to request your rent history New York State Homes and Community Renewal Ask HCR form

  4. If your apartment is rent stabilized (a program that limits rent increases), your landlord can only raise the rent in ways the law allows. The main way is the yearly percentage set by the New York City Rent Guidelines Board. That increase applies when you sign a new lease or a renewal lease. The state can also approve some other increases, for example after major building improvements.

    New York State Homes and Community Renewal Overview NYC311 Rent Increases

  5. For leases that start between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026, the cap is 3% for a 1-year lease. The cap for a 2-year lease is 4.5%. 3% of $2,000 rent is $60. 4.5% of $2,000 rent is $90. Your landlord cannot add more than the cap at renewal.

    New York City Rent Guidelines Board Apartment/Loft Order #57

  6. The Rent Guidelines Board adopted a rent freeze on June 25, 2026. The freeze covers rent stabilized (a program that limits rent increases) leases that start or renew between October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2027. The increase is 0% for both 1-year and 2-year leases. 0% of $2,000 rent is $0. Your rent stays the same at that renewal.

    City of New York Step 2: Check if your rent is regulated New York City Rent Guidelines Board Apartment/Loft Order #58 summary

  7. You may pay a preferential rent (a rent lower than the highest legal rent). That means your landlord charges you less than the highest legal rent for the apartment. Since June 14, 2019, your renewal increase must be based on the lower rent you actually pay. Your landlord cannot switch you to the higher legal rent while you live there. The higher rent can only be charged after you move out.

    NYC311 Legal Regulated Rent and Preferential Rent

  8. If your apartment is rent stabilized (rent increases are capped) and your landlord charges more than legal rent, you can file a complaint. This is called an overcharge complaint (being charged more than the legal rent). File it with HCR's Office of Rent Administration, online or by mail. HCR can order your landlord to lower the rent and refund the extra money you paid. If your landlord charged you too much on purpose, HCR can make your landlord pay 3 times the extra money you were charged. For example, 3 times $1,000 in extra money is $3,000.

    City of New York Step 2: Check if your rent is regulated New York State Homes and Community Renewal Overview

  9. If your apartment is not rent stabilized (limits rent increases), no law sets a fixed cap on the new rent when your lease ends. But New York law makes your landlord give you written notice before raising your rent by 5% or more. 5% of $2,000 rent is $100. So on $2,000 rent, an increase of $100 or more requires this notice.

    City of New York Step 3: Learn about rent increases for unregulated rentals New York State Senate RPL § 226-c(1)(a)

  10. Good Cause Eviction, a state law, protects some market rate homes in New York City. Your rent increase notice must say if the law covers you. A court can find an increase unreasonable if it is above the local rent standard (inflation plus 5%, at most 10%). The standard is 8.38% right now, which is $167.60 on $2,000 rent. If your landlord sues to evict you for not paying it, you can challenge the increase in housing court. It does not cover most landlords with 10 or fewer units statewide.

    RenterLaw editorial New York State Senate RPL § 226-c(1)(a) NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development What types of homes are not covered by the Good Cause Eviction law?

Published by Nazanin · September 24, 2026 · sources checked September 12, 2026

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