- Glossary
- /Vacancy Lease
NYC rental glossary
Vacancy Lease
The first lease a new tenant signs on a unit — as opposed to a renewal with an existing tenant.
A vacancy lease is the lease given to a brand-new tenant moving into a unit, distinct from a renewal lease offered to a tenant already in place. The term matters most for rent-regulated apartments, where the rules for setting the rent differ between a fresh tenancy and a renewal.
On a stabilized unit, a genuine vacancy historically allowed certain increases (a vacancy bonus, and the ability to charge the full legal rent again after a preferential-rent tenancy ends). HSTPA eliminated the statutory vacancy bonus, so the room to raise rent on vacancy is far narrower than it once was, though the full registered legal rent can generally be charged on a true vacancy.
In a CRM, "vacancy lease" versus "renewal lease" is a first-class distinction: it changes which ceiling applies and which prior figure the new rent is measured against.
Related terms
- Renewal LeaseA lease offered to a sitting tenant to extend the tenancy — near-automatic and rent-capped for stabilized units.
- 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.
- Preferential RentA rent a landlord charges below a stabilized unit’s legal regulated rent — which, post-HSTPA, generally becomes the base for renewals.
- HSTPA (Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act)The sweeping 2019 New York law that reshaped rent regulation, ending vacancy deregulation and capping improvement increases.
- Lease RiderA required addendum to a NYC lease — most notably the rent-stabilization rider disclosing the legal rent and tenant rights.
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.