What type of housing do I live in?

All New York City tenants have basic rights, such as the right to safe conditions and essential services, due process in housing court before being evicted, and more!

The different kinds of rental housing in NYC

• Rent-Regulated: About 1 million apartments in NYC are rent-stabilized or rent-controlled. Rent increases are limited, and you cannot be evicted without good cause.

• NYCHA: Over 150,000 apartments in NYC are in New York City Housing Authority buildings. Public housing residents pay 30% of their household income for rent.

• Unregulated: Over 1 million housing units are unregulated or “market rate.”

• Subsidized (Section 8, HUD, Mitchell Lama, other programs): Tenants must qualify by income, and there are limits on the rent.

What type of housing do I have?

Your lease is supposed to state clearly if the apartment is “subject to rent stabilization” or if there is a subsidy program. Sometimes landlords don’t provide the legally required lease for the specific type of apartment, so to know your rights, you might need to do some research.

• Look up your building on Who Owns What, at https://whoownswhat.justfix.org/. This website can tell you if your building has rent stabilized apartments or not.

• Look up your building on https://portal.displacementalert.org/ to see if it is in an affordable housing program or receives an abatement that makes it rent stabilized.

• Ask New York State Homes & Community Renewal for a rent history. This will tell you if your apartment was ever rent stabilized.

Protection from excessive rent increases

• Lease renewals: Tenants in regulated, subsidized, or public housing have the right to a lease renewal if they keep the apartment as their primary residence and obey the rules.

• Limited rent increases: In NYCHA or many other subsidized buildings, the rent is calculated based on your annual income report. Increases for rent-stabilized tenants are set by the NYC Rent Guidelines board. Rent increases for unregulated apartments are not limited, unless the building is covered by the Good Cause Eviction law, in which case the maximum increase is either 5% of the rent plus the consumer price index, or 10% of the rent, whichever is lower.

• Repairs: You have a right to safe conditions and essential services such as heat and hot water. If the landlord fails to make repairs or provide essential services, you can call 311, sue for repairs in housing court in an HP Action, and organize with your neighbors.

• Succession: Family members of the person named on the lease of a rent-regulated apartment have succession rights if they have lived there for at least two years before the primary tenant moved out or died. Family members can usually have succession rights in NYCHA and subsidized apartments if they have been on the lease or family composition forms for at least one year. There are no succession rights in unregulated apartments.

• Roommates: In most housing, you have the right to a roommate without advance permission from the landlord. In NYCHA, you need permission. If you get a rent subsidy, having a roommate could cause you to lose it, so be sure to check the subsidy’s rules!

For free legal help, call Legal Services NYC at 917-661-4500 Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn more about our intake process here.

* The information does not constitute legal advice. You should always consult an attorney regarding your matter. Legal help subject to capacity and location.