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To find out whether your New York City apartment is rent-stabilized, check your lease and any rent-stabilization rider first. If they do not give a clear answer, request the apartment’s rent history—also called Registered Apartment Information (RAI)—from New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). The history is tied to your specific unit, so provide the full address, including the apartment number.
Check your lease, but treat it as a starting point
Look for a statement in your lease that the apartment is rent-stabilized and for a rent-stabilization rider. These documents can offer a direct clue, but if the wording is missing, unclear, or disputed, verify the apartment’s status through HCR’s rent history rather than relying on the lease alone. NYC’s rent-stabilization guidance and tenant-rights information direct tenants to apartment-specific records.
Use building details as clues, not proof
A common indicator is a building with six or more apartments that was built before 1974. That combination does not establish that a particular apartment is stabilized. Some apartments in newer buildings may also be stabilized, including through applicable tax-benefit programs or other regulatory arrangements. The unit’s own records are more useful than its age, size, neighborhood, or rent amount.
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Do not use historic rent thresholds shown in some general summaries as a universal current test. The city warns that meeting common building criteria does not necessarily mean an individual apartment is stabilized and directs tenants to check the apartment’s records. See NYC’s rent increase and tenant guidance.
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Request the apartment’s rent history from HCR
HCR’s Office of Rent Administration (ORA) maintains rent-registration information. NYC lists online, phone, email, and in-person borough-office routes for requesting a rent history. Use the current directions on the HCR Office of Rent Administration page or the city’s rent-stabilization page.
- Online: Give the full building address, apartment number, and ZIP code. The request reason may appear as “Apartment rent history” or “Am I rent stabilized?”
- By phone: Provide the complete address, including the apartment number. NYC lists HCR at 1-833-499-0343; check the agency page for current contact instructions.
- Email or in person: NYC also lists email and borough-office options. Confirm the current process and contact details on the HCR or city page before using them.
Tenants can request only the history for the apartment where they live. NYC says that if the apartment has registered history, HCR mails it to the apartment address. If there is no history because the apartment was never stabilized, the city says no history will be mailed; an email response may be sent if you supplied an email address. If no response arrives or the result is unexpected, contact ORA or ask the NYC Tenant Helpline through 311 for help.
Interpret the RAI report in context
The rent history records registration information and rent figures associated with the apartment. HCR’s March 2026 Guide to Understanding Registration Apartment Information explains how to read the report. Compare its entries with your lease dates and the rents you were charged; do not assume that one unfamiliar entry by itself proves fraud, deregulation, or an unlawful rent. Ask ORA or the Tenant Helpline to help interpret a confusing record.
A lease may list both a “legal regulated rent,” the maximum rent established under the applicable rent-stabilization rules, and a lower “preferential rent” that the owner has agreed to charge. The difference between those amounts alone does not establish that the apartment is deregulated or that the rent is unlawful. For questions about increases, consult HCR’s Fact Sheet #26 and seek agency or qualified legal assistance if the calculation remains unclear.
What a building notice can—and cannot—tell you
Starting January 26, 2026, NYC Local Law 86 requires multiple dwellings containing at least one rent-stabilized unit to post a notice in a common area in English and Spanish. The notice says the building contains one or more units subject to rent stabilization and tells tenants to contact DHCR/HCR to check their own unit. Its presence is evidence that the building contains at least one regulated apartment, not that yours is one of them. See NYC HPD’s rent-stabilization information.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Escalate an overcharge concern
If the rent history and your lease raise a concrete concern that you are being overcharged, HCR says you may file an overcharge complaint with ORA. Keep your lease and riders, rent notices, rent-history report, and payment records together when you seek help. HCR’s overcharge complaint information explains the agency process. For a disputed status, a substantial claimed overcharge, or an active housing-court case, consider speaking with a qualified tenant attorney or legal-services provider.
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