If you live in a rent-stabilized apartment — and roughly one million New York City households do — you have powerful legal protections that many tenants don’t fully understand. One of the most important: your right to renew your lease. Landlords cannot simply refuse to offer you a renewal, and there are strict rules about how much they can raise your rent. Here’s what you need to know heading into lease renewal season in 2026.
Do You Have a Rent-Stabilized Apartment? Here’s How to Check
Before anything else, you need to know if your apartment is covered by rent stabilization. Most apartments in NYC buildings built before 1974 with six or more units are rent-stabilized — but there are exceptions. The easiest way to find out: look up your apartment’s rent history on the New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) website, or call DHCR at (833) 499-0343 and request your rent history by mail. You can also check your lease — rent-stabilized apartments are typically identified as such in the lease rider.
Your Legal Right to a Lease Renewal
Under New York’s Rent Stabilization Law and the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019, rent-stabilized tenants have an absolute right to renew their lease. Your landlord cannot refuse to offer a renewal unless they can prove specific legal grounds — such as documented non-payment of rent, substantial lease violations, or using the apartment for illegal purposes. Personal dislike, a desire to renovate, or wanting to rent to someone else at a higher price are not legal grounds for refusing renewal.
The 90–150 Day Rule: Know Your Timeline
Under the Rent Stabilization Code, your landlord is legally required to send you a written renewal offer between 150 and 90 days before your current lease expires. This is not optional — it’s the law. The renewal must offer you both a one-year and a two-year lease option.
Once you receive the renewal offer, you have 60 days to accept it and return the signed lease. If your landlord fails to send the renewal offer within the required window, they may not be able to collect a rent increase for that renewal period.
If you do not receive a renewal offer and your lease is within 90 days of expiring, contact the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) or a tenant advocacy organization immediately. (Source: Met Council on Housing)
2025–2026 Legal Rent Increase Limits
The NYC Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) sets the maximum allowable rent increases for stabilized apartments each year. For leases being renewed between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026 (Order #57), the limits are:
- One-year lease renewal: 3% increase
- Two-year lease renewal: 4.5% increase
Your landlord cannot charge more than these amounts for a standard stabilized renewal. Any renewal above these limits is an illegal rent overcharge. Your landlord also cannot charge any renewal fees, processing fees, or administrative charges — those are illegal under the Rent Stabilization Code. (Source: NYC Rent Guidelines Board — Order #57)
Preferential Rent Protections Under HSTPA 2019
If you’re paying a preferential rent — meaning your landlord charged you less than the legal regulated rent — and your tenancy began on or after June 14, 2019, you are protected under HSTPA. Your landlord cannot suddenly spike your rent back up to the legal regulated rent at renewal time. Your preferential rent stays in place as long as you remain in the apartment.
This was a significant change from pre-2019 law. If your landlord is trying to dramatically raise your rent at renewal and claims they’re simply returning to the “legal regulated rent,” consult a tenant attorney to determine if your preferential rent protections apply.
What to Do If Your Landlord Is Overcharging You
If you believe your landlord has charged more than the legally permitted increase, you can file a rent overcharge complaint with DHCR. Here’s how:
- Get your rent history by requesting it from DHCR — call (833) 499-0343 or submit Form RA-90 online. This shows every registered rent on record.
- Gather your evidence: all your leases, rent receipts, canceled checks, and any written notices from your landlord
- File Form RA-89 (“Tenant’s Complaint of Rent and/or Other Specific Overcharges in Rent Stabilized Apartments”) online at RentConnect or mail it to DHCR
Overcharge complaints generally cover the 6 years before the filing date. If DHCR finds a willful overcharge, you may be entitled to treble damages — three times the amount overcharged. (Source: NYS HCR — Rent Overcharge)
Action Steps: Protect Your Lease Renewal Rights
- Know your lease expiration date and count back 150 days — that’s when your landlord should begin the renewal process
- Check if you’re rent-stabilized using DHCR’s lookup tool at hcr.ny.gov or by calling (833) 499-0343
- Verify the RGB-allowed increase — for leases renewing in 2025–2026, the max is 3% (one-year) or 4.5% (two-year) per RGB Order #57
- If no renewal offer arrives 90 days before expiration, contact Met Council on Housing at metcouncilonhousing.org or call their hotline: (212) 979-0611
- If you’re being overcharged, file Form RA-89 with DHCR at rent.hcr.ny.gov
NYC’s rent stabilization system exists to protect you — but it only works if you know your rights and act when they’re violated. Don’t let an illegal rent increase go unchallenged.
