Metro file
Rent stabilization covers roughly a million apartments in NYC plus ETPA towns in Nassau, Rockland and Westchester counties. The Rent Guidelines Board sets the legal increase every June; surcharges (MCI and IAI) stack on top and are fought separately.
If your unit is rent-stabilized — roughly a million apartments in the city, plus ETPA towns in Nassau, Rockland and Westchester — your increase is not your landlord’s idea. The Rent Guidelines Board sets it each June for leases starting the following October. For leases beginning October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026 the Board’s figures are 3.0% on a one-year renewal and 4.5% on a two-year. Surcharges are a separate war: Major Capital Improvement (MCI) and Individual Apartment Improvement (IAI) charges stack on top and are challenged at DHCR on their own dockets.
If your unit is not stabilized, there is no percentage cap — but the 2019 state law gives you the tenure notice ladder for any increase of 5% or more (30 days under a year in the home, 60 at one to two years, 90 beyond two) and a one-year retaliation presumption, one of the strongest in the country.
Rules checked October 2026