Leases 1, 2, 3 (updated)
Legal maximum rent? Preferential rent? What if I'm a lottery tenant?
How long will I be rent stabilized?
We can explain, but remember: right now we are all rent stabilized.
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Choose your status: |
1 I moved in after March 2009 |
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2 I’m a lottery tenant |
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3 I’ve been here forever |
1 I moved in after March 2009 . . .
Q. My lease shows two rents. What does that mean?
A. The higher rent is the maximum rent the owner can legally charge. The lower rent—the rent you’re actually paying—is called a preferential rent. The owner charges less because the legal rent is higher than what the market will bear.
Q. How will my rent change when I renew my lease?
A. Your preferential rent is your base rent. Any adjustment on renewal—increase, freeze, or rollback—will follow the decision of the city’s Rent Guidelines Board. Every year the RGB sets rent adjustments for leases starting or renewing as of October 1 of the same year.
Q. Has the rent ever not been increased?
Yes! In 2015, 2016, and 2020, there was no increase for a lease renewal of one year. In 2020, the increase for a two-year lease was 0% for the first year and 2% for the second year. In 2021, the renewal for a one-year lease was 0% for the first six months and 1.5% for the second six months.
The RGB is not required to raise the rent—it could even roll it back.
Q. I’m rent stabilized now. Will that change?
A. No—unless there are changes to the law or rent stabilization is abolished.
In 2019, the state’s Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act did away with vacancy and high-income deregulation. It states that any apartment that was rent stabilized on June 14, 2019, remains rent stabilized. Property owners challenged the law in court.
The Tenants Association filed its own lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court, where the judge ruled in our favor in early 2023. Blackstone filed to appeal the decision but withdrew its appeal in February 2024. This major legal victory protects STPCV tenants, both current and future.
Owners have also filed cases with the U.S. Supreme Court, but to date that court has ruled against them or declined to consider the cases.
2 I’m a lottery tenant . . .
Q. Why is there a lottery here?
When Blackstone bought the property in 2015, they entered into an agreement with the city to keep no fewer than 5,000 apartments “affordable” for 20 years (affordable = longtime tenants’ units + lottery units). They planned on the remaining 6,200+ units becoming part of the free market—with no protections and no limits on the rent.
Q. My lease shows two rents. What does that mean?
A. The higher rent is the maximum rent the owner could legally charge if the apartment were not occupied by a lottery tenant. The lower rent—the rent you actually pay—is called a preferential rent.
Q. How will my rent change when I renew my lease? My renewal offer letter lists three drastically different rents.
A. Here’s what you’re seeing:
- “Renewal Legal Rent”: the maximum legal rent the owner can charge if the apartment was not part of the lottery.
- “Renewal Maximum Under Affordable Program”: what the owner could charge under the terms of its purchase of the property before the provisions of the 2019 law mandated that any unit that was rent stabilized on June 14, 2019, remains stabilized. This is the owner’s way of preserving its position that your apartment can be deregulated and lose lottery protections in 2035 if the law changes.
- “Renewal Offer”: the rent you will be paying. Any adjustment to your preferential rent—increase, freeze, or rollback—will follow the decision of the city’s Rent Guidelines Board.
3 I’ve been here forever . . .
Your lease shows only the maximum legal rent. Your rent on renewal is adjusted according to the decision of the city’s Rent Guidelines Board. As long as the rent stabilization law is in effect, you are protected.
Q. HOW CAN I HELP IN THE LEGAL FIGHT TO PRESERVE MY RENT-STABILIZED STATUS AND RIGHTS?
A. Lawsuits are expensive, but we want to protect the rent-stabilized status of all apartments here and the rights of all tenants here. If you’re not already a member of the Tenants Association, join us now. Your dues make it possible for us to fight for all our neighbors.
March 25, 2025
