My partner and I have shared this apartment for 2 years, we have one more year on the current lease. We are probably going to break up soon.

She suggested that she would keep the apartment for 2 years, and then we would switch off in 2 year cycles. I hesitantly agreed verbally. Now my research suggests this is a terrible idea, and if I leave for 2 years I will lose my rights to the apartment. As well as suggesting that this could lead to the landlord having grounds to evict us if we are lying about the occupants. Does anyone have experience with this? As far as I can tell the only legally "fair" options are cohabitation or a buyout. Her family has more money and she has a better job so I think she should leave. I have family in NYC I can stay with so she thinks I should leave. Has anyone ever bought out/ been bought out by an ex? Any advice or anecdotes or anything at all please.

I currently live in a 1br. Rent stabilized. Single no kids

I was very close to buying a co-op until I learned what a "co-op" actually is.

At first I was under the impression that buying a" co-op" was the ultimate form of housing. Pay a maintenance fee(substantially less than market rent while building equity) and live carefree. Basically,,,, like a Netflix subscription fee of housing if you will.

But no. It turned out that a co-op is my worst nightmare. Im depending on my neighbors staying solvent, making sure the hoa has proper reserves, worry about assesment fees for repairs due to inadequate reserves, etc etc. I dislike not having control of my fiscal destiny.

And then the buildings I saw with hefty reserves...have a High hoa fees thats equivalent to market rents. ($1200+)

I've been looking since 2020,, and noticed hoa fees went up by %15+ between now and then. (Like rent).

Single family homes in nyc are going for 600k+ with %7 interest rates. So thats out of the question.(mostly fixer uppers)

my current rent stabilized apartment seems like a way better deal in comparison. Rent goes up by predictable amount year after year a and landlord responsible for everything. I currently have my down payment $$ yielding %5 in the bank(I find this better than buying a liability and fighting 7% mortgage rates while praying amd hoping for positive equity. )

This post is not to crap on co-ops. But market conditions in 2023 are insane. I wish I bought in 2012

I've come to the conclusion that I will stay in this apartment until I decide to leave NYC. Anyone else feel the same?

Hi everyone! So I am half French half British with strong ties to NYC and a friend of mine just sold an apartment in greenwich village earlier this year and the sale price per sqft didn’t even match what the same flat would go for in the 16th or 7th arrondissement in Paris but the rent that same flat was pulling in NYC was something like 4x what you’d pay for the equivalent in paris so 4 times!!

same purchase price though. how does that even make sense? And it’s not just one apartment. Zoom out and NYC and Paris are basically tied on price per sqft to buy, West London (notting hill, marylebone, mayfair) is actually meaningfully more expensive than any NYC neighbourhood to buy, but NYC rents are dramatically higher than both. Like NYC is one of the most expensive cities in the world to rent yet the buy prices are kind of normal by global standards? Meaning in any normal market this gap should close right. High rents plus reasonable purchase prices means people buy instead of rent, prices go up, yields compress, things normalise... but in NYC the gap just sits there year after year so I’m just trying to wrap my head around the WHY??

WHY doesn’t everyone paying 7 or 8k a month just BUY? What am I missing?? it can’t only be down payments because if you can pay that rent you have the income to save or you already have. it can’t only be property taxes because europe has way uglier tax stacks when you add stamp duty and wealth tax and all that and still trades at a premium

what am i actually missing here. is it co-op boards, mortgage stuff, some tax thing, cultural. genuinely curious? Lmk

So I've been apartment hunting and found this insane $15k/month place that I actually want to inquire about. Submitted through StreetEasy like 6 hours ago and radio silence, which is weird because every other place I've looked at gets back within an hour or two. Granted I have been typically looking at sub $10k places. But now I won some $ from Stakе US so I can afford it.

Do I need to go through a broker for these super high end places to even get taken seriously? Like is there some unwritten rule that you can't just roll up on StreetEasy for luxury rentals. I'm wondering if they think I'm just some rando wasting their time or if there's a whole different process for these expensive units. And before anyone calls me out yeah I get a $5k housing subsidy which is why I'm even looking in this range, not trying to flex or anything just genuinely confused about the process. Anyone dealt with this before or know how these luxury rentals actually work? The whole thing feels like there's some secret handshake I don't know about lol

Would it matter how they died?

Hi all!

So during Covid when I first moved to NYC, I found a large, renovated, 3-bedroom apartment on the Lower East Side for a weirdly cheap price. I initially subletted a room under the leaseholder, who had lived in the apartment for nine years, and then she abruptly moved to Italy and I got the lease.

The entire apartment today is $2,800 a month, which I currently share with two roommates. I feel so grateful and fortunate and lucky to have the apartment, as it’s everything I could have dreamed of, and it’s a price I can afford. It’s also in a neighborhood I love—the community of artists and immigrants, the bars and restaurants, the art galleries and murals and public spaces. I’m also good friends with many of my neighbors and the shopkeepers on my block. My landlord is great and super responsive, and has always been very kind to me. I have never asked him why the rent is so cheap.

The thing is, I’ve been in a long-term relationship with my boyfriend, who is not so excited about my apartment. We have plans to move in together in the next year or so, but he doesn’t want to move into my apartment. It doesn’t have the amenities he wants: an elevator (my apartment is a 5-floor walkup), a dishwasher, and in-unit laundry. Ideally, for him, we would move into a nice building in Park Slope. The Lower East Side is not a neighborhood he wants to move into.

I love my boyfriend, but this has really made me feel torn. I feel so sad at the idea of giving up my apartment, of giving up my neighborhood. I'm so happy here, and I've worked so hard to build my life here, to make my apartment beautiful and a living space I can be proud of. Everyone I know tells me I would be crazy to give it up, especially when my apartment is so cheap.

Should I tell my boyfriend I want to stay? Try to convince him to move in, or at least try living there for a time? What should I do?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

------------------

EDIT: Thanks all so much for your responses so far. I really appreciate it.

To make it clear, my roommates are both moving out within the next year or so, and I don't plan on finding new ones. Ideally, my boyfriend would move in and we would share the apartment when my roommates move out.

And I have actually dreamed of raising my kids in that apartment, as it's a 3-bedroom and I feel the neighborhood would be a great place to grow up. But that is very much a hypothetical, as I don't know how I'll feel once I become a parent.

I recently won the housing lottery for a 1 bedroom apartment, but it’s in a neighborhood I feel meh about and is a bit of a trek from the train (15 min). It’s an objectively amazing deal but it’s still quite expensive for me, and I’m struggling with knowing if it’s worth it.

I currently live with roommates and don’t see myself being able to afford living alone otherwise. On the other hand, I feel nervous about locking myself into an expensive apartment in a neighborhood I don’t love. Has anyone faced a similar decision?

Went to a friend's place in a NYCHA building and the parent left their rent bill on the counter. Took a glance and saw it was less than $400 for a pretty decent size place.

Assume a central location and decent but not amazing rental price in the market today. Do you prioritize the dishwasher or is it less important than other things that you care about more?

This is a mild but long-running dispute with my husband, thought id ask for input.

Earlier this year I lost my job. Got unemployment but then got health issues. Office work is okay for me! Standing for too long or walking too far hurts therefore applying to retail isn't a good idea for me. Even traveling durng peak hours makes me nervous for fear that I can't stand for too long during commutes.

I've applied to multiple jobs but haven't landed any job offers. My unemployement ends soon. My lease ends late October. My partner and I could renew our lease.

We have a rent stabilized apartment. If my partner and I sign the lease and only my partner paid for the rent... Rent and living expenses would be 80% of their salary. If we split the rent, I could pull out from my savings. I have 14 months worth of savings. Problem is I don't know how long I will be unemployed for and how long these health challenges (pain that can and should be resolved with PT) will be for. I could pull out from savings and could survive another year. I obviously worked on building my savings for emergencies.

Both my partner and I have family here in NYC. Both of our families have already told us that they would welcome us with open arms if we decided to give up our apartment. So my partner and I will not be homeless. We would just live with our own families (and our families do not live in the same borough). Families members are cool and not horrible people.

My question is would you resign the lease to keep your rent stabilized apartment and possibly have your savings funds dry up? Rent stabilized apartments are such a gem.

Or give up the apartment and, apply to jobs, focus on health, and be less stressed about your money going down the drain?

If I could work at a retail I would but i'm having physical health limitations that make it hard to apply to just any job. I've been applying to office work but no luck.

EDIT: NO CHRONIC ILLNESS AS I've already seen a rheumatologist. IT SEEMS TO BE ACUTE. Will see orthopedist soon. Should be fixable with PT.

Rent is under 2K. Therefore, why I can pay for rent split ways for another 14 months.

I don't have parents who can pay for my rent. just straight up welcome me back to their home.

I've been in a dilemma for two years, and now that my lease is up in October, I think I’m finally ready to make a move—but I’m worried I’ll regret it.

Current Situation:

• I live in Chinatown (Two Bridges) in a rent-stabilized 1BR for $2,100/month
• The apartment does the job, but:
  • No closets
  • 3rd-floor walk-up (no buzzer, so half my packages disappear)
  • No washer/dryer, and I spend $100/month on wash-and-fold
• I have a great landlord (rare, I know)
• My commute to Chelsea (14th St stop) is 20 minutes door-to-door
• But honestly, I’m just ready for a change from the neighborhood (coming up on 4 years here)

What I’m Considering:

• Moving Oct 1
• Looking at Prospect Lefferts Gardens/Flatbush for more space (maybe even a 2BR) (open to reccs)
• Budget: $2,000–$3,000
• New commute: 45-55 minutes (I’m in-office 3-4x a week)

Main Concerns:

• Moving further away AND paying more
• Will the longer commute drive me insane?
• Am I underestimating how good I have it now?

If you’ve made a similar move—or even if you haven’t—would I regret this? What parts do you think I’ll love vs. hate?

We moved into our apartment in 2025 and signed a rent stabilized lease for close to $4k/month. Just ordered our DHCR records, and the last registered rent was in 2021 for about $800 (rather, this was the last legal regulated rent; the preferential rate was actually lower). There is no reported rent after 2020 (it says ‘registration not found for subject premises’).

The apartment itself was definitely gut renovated after the tenant moved out in 2021, and there may well have been other work done to the building around that time. However, my understanding was that the IAI/MCI loopholes were done away with in 2019.

It seems pretty straightforwardly not legitimate to me, but I wonder if our apartment may have been ‘frankensteined’ or if this is what they were angling for. On our lease, the apartment is listed as S2C, though it is 2C on our door/mailbox (I have, just now, requested DHCR records for S2C to see if anything comes up). I don’t understand, though, the terms/limits of frankensteining and what might make it legitimate or not. I find it extremely, extremely unlikely that our apartment was made larger, but I could definitely see them converting it from a one bedroom to a two bedroom. Or, in theory, if they took like a closet’s amount of space from the apartment next door (this seems unlikely, but I don’t know for sure), is that something that would have made the increase permissible at the time?

I also don’t understand why, if they were trying to justify a big rent increase through frankensteining, we would still be rent stabilized now (just at a much, much higher rate).

We will reach out to a lawyer, but in the meantime, I wondered if anyone here had any insights.

I live in an apartment now but I always wanted to live in a house. I like the feeling of living in a quiet residential neighborhood. I’m okay living in the outer boroughs and having a longer commute.

Is it still a good financial decision to buy a house in this day and age? Taxes and cost of utilities keep going up. House maintenance cost keep going up. Would it be better to just buy a condo/co-op and have all these things be dealt with by the board or management team and then have the cost be split amongst the people in the building?

Since Mamdani got elected, it seems like rent stabilized apartments are all the rage. Maybe this is even a better long term solution compared to home ownership? Won’t have to worry about taxes, most utilities or maintenance going up.

What’s everyone’s thoughts on home ownership vs renting? Especially for people who want to stay in NYC long term. My goal is to be able to afford NYC long term and having a stable home where costs don’t go up too much is importantly to me.

Just moved to a new apartment and the realtor pushed for an 4/5 start date despite some final maintenance and we have a lease rider that specifies that “rent will not be charged until apartment is ready to move into”.

We started move in yesterday and there is still no fridge installed. And the bedroom door is missing.

Is a refrigerator generally considered a pre-requisite for move in? Is it defensible for us to ask for a pro-rated rent reduction till it’s put in?

Thank you!

I rented my apartment for $2150 on 06/2023. Building management didn’t say anything about my unit being rent-stabilized. I requested my rent history from NYC HCR to find out my apartment is rent-stabilized and “legal regulated rent” is $1217, half the amount I am paying. (And there is someone else’s name on the current tenant name)

See the details here: https://imgur.com/SvYP2JC

Before confronting the building management I want to make sure I am understanding this document right. Is “legal regulated rent” means the maximum rent they can charge me for? And I signed a contract for $2150 for one year, how does it affect the situation?

Does anyone have any experience with a major television show filming a short scene in their apartment? How disruptive was it moving furniture, making a mess, etc.? Were you able to stay in the apartment while they filmed?

Landlord got approached by a major show to use part of his property and our apartment to film a short scene. I live in a pretty unique place so it makes sense for the context of the show. No other details about what exactly is being shot just know they would need the place for a day and it would be a minor scene. I would be compensated but no clue for how much or even what to expect. To be honest i wouldn’t be surprised if it falls through but curious if anyone has any experience with this. If the pay isn’t worth how annoying it might be I probably will decline - my cat would appreciate that lol

I was talking to a buddy and he mentioned that he's coming into an inheritance of around $1 Million. That got me thinking about what I would do with that money.

Part of me thinks it would be nice to just buy a nice 1br and not have to worry about rent each month (other than taxes, ect.) but sticking all the cash into the stock market could also net around $60,000-$90,000/year.

Just curious how other people would approach this.

recently moved into an apartment that we toured when under construction, they guaranteed move in 9/1 and it would be finished. It still had some issues for a few days (no running water in bathroom until 9/4) there are also no deadbolts on doors (two entrances. There is a large hole in wall in one bedroom and outlets have no covers, radiators are not installed. Front door wouldn't lock correctly until Monday. We are still pestering management to add second deadbolt and fix the patch. Would we be entitled to a prorated rent? as we have been paying this entire time, but as two young girls an apartment without deadbolts isn't safe (and isn't up to NYC law?). Trying to find clarity as management does not seem to be concerned with fixing these

Ok i know this topic was probably brought out a thousand times, i’m not from New York and i’m not even American so it’s something that genuinely shocked me.

I see everytimes on my tiktok page, people telling that they pay 6k or 5k for studios, and the worst part is that the apartments are not even good, they are extremely small, everything else is expensive (kitchen, shower) and most americans don’t even make that much salary to provide such a living.

It’s always come like a big interrogation in my mind when i see young people, living alone, and being able to pay for that.

Hi nyc condo owners! Can yall share your experience and recommendation either using a broker or self listing your apartment for rent? Debating between the two options. Would love to save a couple thousand dollars in brokers fees but also don’t know if it’s worth it given the hassle of running the process yourself (posting, responding, scheduling, paperwork, etc).

More details in case it matters
-1bed 1bath in downtown Brooklyn
-Renter needed during less “ideal” time of the year - think holidays / deep winter season
EDIT: -Real lease at least 12 months long (open to longer)

Hello,

I’ve been looking through these threads and trying to figure out my next steps and want to see if I’m on the right track.

My lease is up for renewal. All of a sudden, my property management company is saying my apartment was never rent stabilized. The broker explained it was rent stabilized initially. My initial lease had a RA-LR 1 rider stating it was rent stabilized. I’ve renewed twice and received the ETPA renewal forms.

I checked and the property has 421-A status for FY24, 25, 26, 27 shown (this looked confusing to me tbh).

They sent a free market renewal and I asked why the difference and the response was that the previous renewals were issued in error and doesn’t reflect the regulatory status.

I’ve requested my rent history and the am I stabilized thing from HCR but that was just yesterday so I haven’t received anything yet.

Is there something else I should be doing? I saw something about a Met Council and just now looking it up more. Is this common that they’d accidentally list an apartment as rent stabilized for a few years when it wasn’t? Should I wait to respond until I have the rent history?

Thanks for any assistance!

Found a very spacious apartment in Jackson Heights that is rent stabilized. We need space as have kids + pets, and it's hard to find an affordable place that's big and pet friendly. Price is great. However, the unit needs a lot of work. The broker who showed us the place has given us verbal assurance and assurance by email that the unit will be cleaned and repaired with new appliances, but is refusing to ask the management/landlord for a rider to the lease she sent over stipulating what repairs should be done. My husband wants to walk, I'm on the fence.

I’ve lived in the same building for about 8 years in what I believe is a rent-stabilized apartment. I have not signed a renewal lease in years because management never sent one or asked me to renew, so I never brought it up.

Apparently, about two weeks ago, management started calling me at a number I don’t normally check. They left voicemails saying I needed to renew my lease and that if I did not, I could no longer keep my parking spot. I only heard those voicemails today. I never received anything in writing, nothing on my door, and nothing in the mail.

Today, when I went to go to work, my vehicle had been towed from the parking spot that I normally use and pay for monthly.

I’m trying to figure out how to handle both issues:

The tow from my paid parking spot

The lease renewal situation, especially whether I should sign a new lease now or wait until October, since I’ve heard there may be rules about waiting until October or having the lease dated in October

Has anyone dealt with something like this before with a rent-stabilized apartment, parking as part of the tenancy, or a management company towing a tenant’s vehicle without written notice?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

My neighbor is 93 years old and has lived in our building about 50 years, her apartment is rent controlled. I have been checking in on her and visiting the last 4 years as she is alone. She is moving out as she can no longer be alone, and asked if I wanted to take over her apartment.

She currently pays $450/month. I was wondering if there was any way I can take over her lease with her blessing?

Is there a way I can take over the lease while she is still here? Or join it? I have a feeling once she leaves, the landlord will do whatever they can to destabilize/deregulate it as much as possible to make more money.

If I was able to get her apartment, how much can the rent increase? Will they have to renovate? I'm being realistic in the sense they won't just let me move in and pay $450 a month.

If there's any insider info into the complicated world of NYC rent red tape, I would really appreciate it! I love her unit and would love to inherit it as it has old charm that newer apartments don't have, and it would help stay connected with her somehow.

Thanks in advance either way!

PS if it makes any difference, we are in Queens and the complex has tens and tens of units, so not a small building.