- Glossary
- /Renewal Lease
NYC rental glossary
Renewal Lease
A lease offered to a sitting tenant to extend the tenancy — near-automatic and rent-capped for stabilized units.
A renewal lease extends the tenancy of a tenant already living in the unit. For rent-stabilized apartments, the tenant has a near-automatic right to a renewal on substantially the same terms, and the rent increase is capped by the Rent Guidelines Board order in effect for the renewal’s start date — one percentage for a one-year term, another for two years.
The landlord must offer the renewal within a defined window before the current lease ends, on the official renewal form, and cannot refuse it except in narrow circumstances. Good Cause Eviction now extends a comparable renewal expectation to many market-rate tenancies as well.
For pricing, a stabilized renewal works off the rent currently charged (which may be a preferential rent), raised by no more than the applicable RGB percentage — the first ceiling Urbero’s rent gate checks.
See it in the product
Renewal pricing & PDFsRelated terms
- Vacancy LeaseThe first lease a new tenant signs on a unit — as opposed to a renewal with an existing tenant.
- Rent StabilizationA NYC regulatory system that caps annual rent increases and grants tenants a near-automatic right to renew their lease.
- 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.
- Preferential RentA rent a landlord charges below a stabilized unit’s legal regulated rent — which, post-HSTPA, generally becomes the base for renewals.
- Good Cause EvictionA 2024 New York law that gives many market-rate tenants a right to renew and a check on unreasonable rent increases.
- Lease RiderA required addendum to a NYC lease — most notably the rent-stabilization rider disclosing the legal rent and tenant rights.
- Legal Regulated RentThe maximum lawful rent for a rent-regulated unit, registered with the state and built up from a base plus permitted increases.
This definition is general information about a New York City rental or rent-regulation concept, not legal advice. The rules change and often turn on facts specific to a building, unit, and tenancy — confirm the current rule and consult a qualified attorney before acting on any individual matter.