Concession

A landlord incentive — usually free months — that lowers a tenant’s effective rent without cutting the face rent.

A concession is an incentive a landlord offers to close a lease without lowering the stated rent — most often a month or two of free rent, but sometimes a waived broker fee, a free amenity, or a move-in credit. It lets the landlord advertise an attractive net effective rent while keeping the gross rent (the base for future increases) intact.

Concessions cluster in soft markets and at lease-up of new buildings. Because they distort headline pricing, anyone tracking real achieved rents has to record the gross rent and the concession separately rather than booking the discounted number as the rent of record.

On rent-regulated units a concession does not change the legal regulated rent — the legal rent stays at the registered figure regardless of any free months the landlord throws in.

Net Effective RentThe average monthly rent after spreading a concession (free months) across the lease term — lower than the gross rent.
Broker FeeThe commission paid to a rental broker — now, under the FARE Act, owed by the party who hired the broker.
Legal Regulated RentThe maximum lawful rent for a rent-regulated unit, registered with the state and built up from a base plus permitted increases.
Security Deposit (NYC limit)Under HSTPA, a residential security deposit in New York is capped at one month’s rent, with strict return rules.

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