- Glossary
- /HCR (NYS Homes & Community Renewal)
NYC rental glossary
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.
New York State Homes and Community Renewal is the state’s consolidated housing agency. It houses the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), which administers rent regulation, alongside the finance and development arms that fund affordable housing and oversee programs like Mitchell-Lama.
In day-to-day brokerage work, "HCR" and "DHCR" are usually used to mean the same thing — the office you go to for rent registrations, rent histories, and the Maximum Collectible Rent factor that governs rent-controlled units.
The distinction matters mainly for paperwork and citations: rent-regulation orders and forms are issued under HCR/DHCR, and a unit’s legal rent is whatever the agency’s registration says it is.
Related terms
- DHCR (Division of Housing & Community Renewal)The New York State agency that administers rent regulation — registering legal rents and adjudicating overcharge complaints.
- Rent ControlThe older, smaller of NYC’s two rent-regulation systems, covering a shrinking set of long-occupied pre-1947 apartments.
- Rent StabilizationA NYC regulatory system that caps annual rent increases and grants tenants a near-automatic right to renew their lease.
- 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.