- Glossary
- /Multiple Dwelling
NYC rental glossary
Multiple Dwelling
A residence with three or more independent units — the threshold that triggers many NYC building-code and registration duties.
Under New York’s Multiple Dwelling Law, a multiple dwelling is a building occupied as the residence of three or more families living independently of one another. Crossing that three-unit threshold pulls a building into a body of requirements that do not apply to one- and two-family homes — registration with HPD, heat and hot-water standards, certain fire-safety and egress rules, and more.
The class also matters for rent regulation: rent stabilization generally reaches buildings of six or more units built before 1974, a subset of multiple dwellings. So "multiple dwelling" is a code-and-safety classification, while "rent stabilized" is a rent-regulation status — related but not the same thing.
For diligence, knowing a building is a multiple dwelling tells you which registration and habitability obligations its owner is on the hook for.
Related terms
- Certificate of Occupancy (C of O)The DOB document stating a building’s legal use and how many units it may lawfully contain.
- Warranty of HabitabilityA non-waivable promise, implied in every NYC residential lease, that the apartment is fit to live in.
- Rent StabilizationA NYC regulatory system that caps annual rent increases and grants tenants a near-automatic right to renew their lease.
- 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.
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.