Listings of rent-stabilized apartments in NYC

There are nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments in NYC - almost 50% of all the housing stock. That means it's not impossible to get your hands on a rent-stabilized apartment. You can browse rent-stabilized listing on openigloo. You do not need to qualify to get a stabilized apartment. Anyone can rent one. A common misconception is that you can only find stabilized units in old or run down buildings. That's not true. Many new units on the market are stabilized and some of them even have high rents. Rent-stabilization doesn't mean cheap.

The only way to confirm 100% if your unit is regulated is to request your rental history from DHCR - the state agency in charge of rent-regulation. DHCR will mail you a physical copy of your rent history to your address - only the existing tenant can request this. In the history you'll be able to see if your unit is stabilized and what the legal rent is. Make sure what you're paying matches with what's on the record. There are cases where tenants learn about overcharges. This is illegal and landlords are required to pay treble damages if they are caught doing this. Know the status of your apartment and request your rental history!

Prior to a bunch of law changes in 2019, there were some pathways landlords could use to destabilize a unit. They could do renovations to deregulate a unit or if the apartment's rent hit a certain threshold, it would automatically become destabilized. All of that has changed. Unless a tax abatement is expiring (usually on new development buildings), it's nearly impossible for a unit to fall out of stabilization.

Preferential rent is very normal and is when a landlord charges less than the legal rent. Let's say the legal rent on the apartment is $2,000 but they are only charging you $1,800 - that is a preferential rent, a better price! Landlords must register this preferential rent on the history and your increases should be based on the preferential rent not the legal rent. This wasn't the case before the 2019 law change. Landlords could increase your rent up to the legal rent amount even if they gave you a preferential rate the year before.

Rent control is a policy that restricts increases on apartments in buildings built before 1947. Rent control in NYC is VERY rare and there are only about 16,000 rent-controlled units left in the city. To qualify for rent control, a tenant must have been continuously living in an apartment since July 1, 1971, or be a qualifying family member who succeeded the apartment (more on this later). This is why most rent-controlled tenants are elderly - they've been living in the same space since the 70s! Their rent is from the 70s too - sometimes just a couple of hundred dollars.

When a rent-controlled apartment becomes vacant, it automatically becomes 'rent stabilized', except in buildings with fewer than six units, where it is usually decontrolled. This is why the number of rent-controlled apartments is so few - when the tenant passes away or vacates, the unit falls into stabilization status. Unlike rent-stabilized apartments, rent-controlled tenants don't have a lease. They don't need one. They are a permanent tenant of that space - the landlord can never ask them to leave.

Yes you can. See our Tiktok explainer on this! Regulated apartments have succession rights. This means that an apartment can be passed down only if the person inheriting the apartment has also been living there the previous 2 years. The requirement is only 1 year for persons over 62 or for people with disabilities. So for example, your grandparent (or great-grandparent) has a rent controlled or rent-stabilized apartment - as long as you're living there for 2 years before they vacate, you can claim your succession rights. But if it's a low rent apartment especially, be prepared to prove your residency (the landlord and likely lawyers will verify). Succession rights on rent-stabilized apartments have become less relevant since 2019 as a unit can no longer fall out of stabilization at vacancy. The landlord cannot increase the rent or destabilize the unit once someone vacates.

The New York rental market can be a complex landscape to explore. That's where tools like openigloo's interactive map come in handy. Designed to provide comprehensive coverage of rent-stabilized apartments throughout NYC, this tool offers detailed apartment listings and advanced search functionality tailored to your specific needs.

The unique feature of openigloo's map is its emphasis on affordability indicators and historical rent patterns. Designed to help renters, the map:

• Identifies affordable options quickly
• Helps understand market dynamics
• Is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking a rent-stabilized apartment in the city.