NYC Daily TL;DR — Reader Resource

NYC Tenant Rights & Rent Overcharge Checklist

Updated October 19, 2026

Before signing a lease or renewal, check which rent rules cover your apartment and keep the documents behind the numbers. These four steps point you to the official records, protections, and complaint forms.

1 Request Your Official HCR Rent History

If you already rent the apartment, request its registered rent history from New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). Use it alongside your leases and rent receipts to check the charges. ^[1]

Request the record: Use Ask HCR or call the Office of Rent Administration at 1 (833) 499-0343. ^[1]
Review gaps and increases: Flag unexplained jumps and entries marked vacant or exempt. Missing registrations or a surprising number are reasons to investigate, rather than proof of an overcharge. ^[5]
Check preferential rent: A preferential rent paid on or after June 14, 2019 generally continues during that tenancy, with guideline and other lawful increases applied to it. Some government-financed or regulated housing programs have exceptions. ^[2]

The rent-history printout does not determine the lawful rent. Keep it with your leases, riders, payment records, and any HCR orders before evaluating a possible overcharge. ^[5]

2 Check Fees and Lease Riders

Compare the charges and rider terms with the protections that apply to your tenancy.

Broker fees: A landlord’s or listing broker cannot charge you for that broker’s services. You may voluntarily hire and pay your own broker; a landlord cannot require you to do so as a condition of renting. ^[3]
Security deposit: The limit is one month’s rent. A landlord cannot demand last month’s rent plus a security deposit. ^[3]
Late fees: Rent must be more than five days past due before a late fee can apply. The fee cannot exceed $50 or 5% of monthly rent, whichever is less. ^[3]

3 Confirm Your Apartment’s Legal Regime

Start with the NYC housing guide to identify your apartment’s regime, then compare the rent-increase rules for your lease’s start date. Building size alone does not settle the answer.

Rent stabilization: Pre-1974 buildings with six or more apartments and some newer tax-benefited buildings are useful starting clues. Verify the apartment’s status; every unit in a building need not share the same status. ^[4]
Good Cause: Check the official exemption list. A landlord’s small-owner exemption uses holdings across New York State, with ownership rules that can include LLC interests. There is no general requirement that your building contain ten or more apartments. ^[4]
Separate exemptions: Good Cause also exempts owner-occupied buildings with ten or fewer apartments, certain newer buildings, condos/co-ops, and other listed housing. Check the full list before assuming coverage. ^[4]

For covered apartments, Good Cause’s current NYC unreasonable-increase standard is 8.38%. It is rebuttable in court: an increase above it is presumed unreasonable, and a landlord can try to justify it. It is not a guaranteed ceiling on every NYC rent. ^[4] Read HPD’s full coverage and exemption rules.

4 Use the Right Overcharge Complaint Form

For a suspected rent-stabilized overcharge, review HCR Form RA-89 and its instructions. Rent-controlled complaints use RA-89C. HCR’s overcharge page links the forms and online filing options. ^[5]

Choose the correct form and filing route on HCR’s rent-overcharge page. ^[5]
Gather your leases, riders, payment records, rent history, and relevant HCR orders. Follow the form’s instructions for the evidence to submit. ^[5]
Keep the damages question separate: a finding of willful overcharge may lead to treble damages; a suspicious rent-history entry alone does not establish that finding. ^[5]

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Official sources

Checked October 19, 2026. Follow the linked agency instructions for your apartment and filing route.

HCR records access and Office of Rent Administration: https://hcr.ny.gov/foil; https://hcr.ny.gov/office-rent-administration-ora; https://portal.hcr.ny.gov/app/ask
HCR leases and preferential rent: https://hcr.ny.gov/leases
NYS Attorney General residential tenants’ rights guide; DCWP broker-fee FAQ: https://ag.ny.gov/publications/residential-tenants-rights-guide; https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dca/downloads/pdf/about/FAQ-Broker-Fees.pdf
RGB rent-stabilization FAQ and HPD Good Cause rules: https://rentguidelinesboard.cityofnewyork.us/resources/faqs/rent-stabilization/; https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/good-cause-eviction.page; https://hcr.ny.gov/good-cause-eviction-law-notice-august-2026
HCR overcharge forms and RA-89 instructions: https://hcr.ny.gov/rent-increases-and-rent-overcharge; https://hcr.ny.gov/form-ra-89