Reference

NYC rental glossary

Plain-English definitions of the rent-regulation and leasing terms every NYC brokerage, landlord, and renter runs into — rent stabilization, Good Cause Eviction, the FARE Act, RGB, DHCR, and the rest of the alphabet soup. Each entry is cross-linked to the related concepts so you can follow the thread.

A

ACRIS: NYC’s online property-records system — deeds, mortgages, and ownership history searchable by BBL.

B

BBL (Borough-Block-Lot): NYC’s unique parcel identifier — a borough digit plus block and lot numbers that pins a property to the tax map.
BIN (Building Identification Number): A seven-digit NYC identifier for a single physical structure, distinct from the parcel-level BBL.
Broker Fee: The commission paid to a rental broker — now, under the FARE Act, owed by the party who hired the broker.

C

Certificate of Occupancy (C of O): The DOB document stating a building’s legal use and how many units it may lawfully contain.
CityFHEPS: A NYC rental-assistance voucher that helps households experiencing or at risk of homelessness pay rent.
Concession: A landlord incentive — usually free months — that lowers a tenant’s effective rent without cutting the face rent.

D

DHCR (Division of Housing & Community Renewal): The New York State agency that administers rent regulation — registering legal rents and adjudicating overcharge complaints.

F

FARE Act: A 2024 NYC law shifting the broker fee to the party who hired the broker — in most listings, the landlord.

G

Good Cause Eviction: A 2024 New York law that gives many market-rate tenants a right to renew and a check on unreasonable rent increases.

H

HCR (NYS Homes & Community Renewal): New York State’s umbrella housing agency, parent of DHCR and the administrator of rent-regulation and affordable-housing programs.
HDFC: A Housing Development Fund Corporation — a limited-equity, income-restricted affordable co-op model common in NYC.
Heat Season: The Oct 1–May 31 window when NYC owners must keep apartments heated to legal minimums; hot water is required year-round.
Housing Court: The NYC court that hears landlord-tenant disputes — evictions, repairs, and warranty-of-habitability claims.
HPD Violation: A recorded NYC housing-code violation, classed A (non-hazardous), B (hazardous), or C/I (immediately hazardous).
HSTPA (Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act): The sweeping 2019 New York law that reshaped rent regulation, ending vacancy deregulation and capping improvement increases.

I

Individual Apartment Improvement (IAI): An in-unit renovation that lets a landlord add a capped, time-limited increase to a rent-regulated apartment’s legal rent.

J

J-51: A NYC tax-exemption-and-abatement program for building rehabilitation that historically brought units into rent stabilization.

L

Lease Rider: A required addendum to a NYC lease — most notably the rent-stabilization rider disclosing the legal rent and tenant rights.
Legal Regulated Rent: The maximum lawful rent for a rent-regulated unit, registered with the state and built up from a base plus permitted increases.

M

Major Capital Improvement (MCI): A building-wide capital upgrade that lets a landlord apply for a permanent rent increase on rent-regulated units, subject to caps.
Mitchell-Lama: A state/city affordable-housing program creating limited-equity, income-restricted middle-income developments.
Multiple Dwelling: A residence with three or more independent units — the threshold that triggers many NYC building-code and registration duties.

N

Net Effective Rent: The average monthly rent after spreading a concession (free months) across the lease term — lower than the gross rent.

P

Preferential Rent: A rent a landlord charges below a stabilized unit’s legal regulated rent — which, post-HSTPA, generally becomes the base for renewals.

R

Renewal Lease: A lease offered to a sitting tenant to extend the tenancy — near-automatic and rent-capped for stabilized units.
Rent Control: The older, smaller of NYC’s two rent-regulation systems, covering a shrinking set of long-occupied pre-1947 apartments.
Rent Guidelines Board (RGB): The nine-member NYC board that sets, once a year, the maximum percentage a rent-stabilized rent may be raised on a one- or two-year lease.
Rent Overcharge: Charging more than a rent-regulated unit’s legal rent — exposing the landlord to a refund plus, in willful cases, treble damages.
Rent Receipt (NY RPL §235-e): New York law requires a written rent receipt for any payment a tenant does not make by their own personal check.
Rent Stabilization: A NYC regulatory system that caps annual rent increases and grants tenants a near-automatic right to renew their lease.

S

SCRIE / DRIE: NYC rent-freeze programs for low-income senior (SCRIE) and disabled (DRIE) tenants, reimbursing the landlord via a tax credit.
Section 8: A federal rental-subsidy program (the Housing Choice Voucher) that pays part of a low-income tenant’s rent directly to the landlord.
Security Deposit (NYC limit): Under HSTPA, a residential security deposit in New York is capped at one month’s rent, with strict return rules.
Succession Rights: The right of a family member to take over a rent-regulated lease when the named tenant dies or permanently leaves.

V

Vacancy Lease: The first lease a new tenant signs on a unit — as opposed to a renewal with an existing tenant.

W

Warranty of Habitability: A non-waivable promise, implied in every NYC residential lease, that the apartment is fit to live in.

#

421-a: A NYC tax exemption for new residential construction that requires the developer to rent-stabilize units for the benefit period.

This glossary is general information about New York City rental and rent-regulation concepts, not legal advice. Rules change and turn on facts specific to a building, unit, and tenancy — confirm the current rule and consult counsel before acting on any individual matter.

NYC rental glossary

A

ACRIS: NYC’s online property-records system — deeds, mortgages, and ownership history searchable by BBL.

B

BBL (Borough-Block-Lot): NYC’s unique parcel identifier — a borough digit plus block and lot numbers that pins a property to the tax map.
BIN (Building Identification Number): A seven-digit NYC identifier for a single physical structure, distinct from the parcel-level BBL.
Broker Fee: The commission paid to a rental broker — now, under the FARE Act, owed by the party who hired the broker.

C

Certificate of Occupancy (C of O): The DOB document stating a building’s legal use and how many units it may lawfully contain.
CityFHEPS: A NYC rental-assistance voucher that helps households experiencing or at risk of homelessness pay rent.
Concession: A landlord incentive — usually free months — that lowers a tenant’s effective rent without cutting the face rent.

D

DHCR (Division of Housing & Community Renewal): The New York State agency that administers rent regulation — registering legal rents and adjudicating overcharge complaints.

F

FARE Act: A 2024 NYC law shifting the broker fee to the party who hired the broker — in most listings, the landlord.

G

Good Cause Eviction: A 2024 New York law that gives many market-rate tenants a right to renew and a check on unreasonable rent increases.

H

HCR (NYS Homes & Community Renewal): New York State’s umbrella housing agency, parent of DHCR and the administrator of rent-regulation and affordable-housing programs.
HDFC: A Housing Development Fund Corporation — a limited-equity, income-restricted affordable co-op model common in NYC.
Heat Season: The Oct 1–May 31 window when NYC owners must keep apartments heated to legal minimums; hot water is required year-round.
Housing Court: The NYC court that hears landlord-tenant disputes — evictions, repairs, and warranty-of-habitability claims.
HPD Violation: A recorded NYC housing-code violation, classed A (non-hazardous), B (hazardous), or C/I (immediately hazardous).
HSTPA (Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act): The sweeping 2019 New York law that reshaped rent regulation, ending vacancy deregulation and capping improvement increases.

I

Individual Apartment Improvement (IAI): An in-unit renovation that lets a landlord add a capped, time-limited increase to a rent-regulated apartment’s legal rent.

J

J-51: A NYC tax-exemption-and-abatement program for building rehabilitation that historically brought units into rent stabilization.

L

Lease Rider: A required addendum to a NYC lease — most notably the rent-stabilization rider disclosing the legal rent and tenant rights.
Legal Regulated Rent: The maximum lawful rent for a rent-regulated unit, registered with the state and built up from a base plus permitted increases.

M

Major Capital Improvement (MCI): A building-wide capital upgrade that lets a landlord apply for a permanent rent increase on rent-regulated units, subject to caps.
Mitchell-Lama: A state/city affordable-housing program creating limited-equity, income-restricted middle-income developments.
Multiple Dwelling: A residence with three or more independent units — the threshold that triggers many NYC building-code and registration duties.

N

Net Effective Rent: The average monthly rent after spreading a concession (free months) across the lease term — lower than the gross rent.

P

Preferential Rent: A rent a landlord charges below a stabilized unit’s legal regulated rent — which, post-HSTPA, generally becomes the base for renewals.

R

Renewal Lease: A lease offered to a sitting tenant to extend the tenancy — near-automatic and rent-capped for stabilized units.
Rent Control: The older, smaller of NYC’s two rent-regulation systems, covering a shrinking set of long-occupied pre-1947 apartments.
Rent Guidelines Board (RGB): The nine-member NYC board that sets, once a year, the maximum percentage a rent-stabilized rent may be raised on a one- or two-year lease.
Rent Overcharge: Charging more than a rent-regulated unit’s legal rent — exposing the landlord to a refund plus, in willful cases, treble damages.
Rent Receipt (NY RPL §235-e): New York law requires a written rent receipt for any payment a tenant does not make by their own personal check.
Rent Stabilization: A NYC regulatory system that caps annual rent increases and grants tenants a near-automatic right to renew their lease.

S

SCRIE / DRIE: NYC rent-freeze programs for low-income senior (SCRIE) and disabled (DRIE) tenants, reimbursing the landlord via a tax credit.
Section 8: A federal rental-subsidy program (the Housing Choice Voucher) that pays part of a low-income tenant’s rent directly to the landlord.
Security Deposit (NYC limit): Under HSTPA, a residential security deposit in New York is capped at one month’s rent, with strict return rules.
Succession Rights: The right of a family member to take over a rent-regulated lease when the named tenant dies or permanently leaves.

V

Vacancy Lease: The first lease a new tenant signs on a unit — as opposed to a renewal with an existing tenant.

W

Warranty of Habitability: A non-waivable promise, implied in every NYC residential lease, that the apartment is fit to live in.

#

421-a: A NYC tax exemption for new residential construction that requires the developer to rent-stabilize units for the benefit period.