Reference guide
Every October, a new set of percentages takes effect for rent-stabilized lease renewals in New York City. The Rent Guidelines Board sets them; they apply to the legal regulated rent, not the market; and a two-year renewal carries a different total than a one-year. This is the full recent history, plus exactly how the cap is calculated.
The New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) is a nine-member body appointed by the Mayor. Each year it studies operating costs, the economy, and rents, then votes — usually in June — on the maximum percentage by which an owner may raise the rent on a stabilized apartment’s renewal lease. The resulting order takes effect for leases that begin on or after October 1 and runs through September 30 of the following year.
The RGB sets separate percentages for one-year and two-year renewals, and occasionally structures a two-year renewal as a split — one percentage in the first year, a different one in the second. The board governs only rent-stabilized units; rent-controlled units follow a separate HCR Maximum Collectible Rent (MCR) process, and market-rate units aren’t covered at all (though some may fall under Good Cause Eviction).
The percentage is applied to the unit’s legal regulated rent — the highest lawful rent established by the unit’s DHCR registration history — and to the lease term the tenant chooses:
It's a computed number, not a negotiation.
The percentages below are the renewal increases adopted by the RGB for each lease year. The order in effect for a renewal is determined by the new lease’s start date.
| Order | Lease year | 1-year renewal | 2-year renewal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | 2020–2021 | 0.00% | 0% yr 1 + 1% yr 2 |
| 53 | 2021–2022 | 1.50% | 2.50% |
| 54 | 2022–2023 | 3.25% | 5.00% |
| 55 | 2023–2024 | 3.00% | 2.75% yr 1 + 3.20% yr 2 |
| 56 | 2024–2025 | 2.75% | 5.25% |
| 57 | 2025–2026 | 3.00% | 4.50% |
These figures are time-sensitive. The board adopts the next order each June, effective the following October 1; confirm the order for the relevant lease year against the RGB’s published apartment order before applying it.
In some years the RGB structures the two-year renewal as a split rather than a single percentage. Order 55 (lease years beginning Oct 1, 2023) set the two-year renewal at 2.75% for the first year and 3.20% for the second.
A split two-year renewal compounds.
A flat two-year order (like Order 57’s 4.50%) applies the single percentage once to the legal rent for the full two-year term. The calculator handles both shapes for you.
Apply the two-year percentage (or the split, year by year) for the order in effect on the lease start date. Lock the rent for the term; the tenant gets the certainty of a fixed rent for two years.
The order is keyed to the lease start date. A renewal beginning September 30 falls under the prior order; one starting October 1 falls under the new one. A one-day difference can change the percentage — check the start date, not the offer date.
A lawful Individual Apartment Improvement uplift is added on top of the RGB renewal amount (subject to the HSTPA caps). See the MCI/IAI guide for how those increases are limited.
