Renting

If you ask any renter in New York City, the rent is too darn high! We’ve all heard about steep rent increases in the city, but only some of these are legal. Read on to learn more about how much landlords can raise rent in NYC.  Does New York City Have Rent Increase Laws? New … Read more

Thousands of New Yorkers decide on getting roommates when they choose to save money on rent. If you’re a native New Yorker, you might have a buddy you’re willing to room with. But, if you are new to town, you will need to find a roommate. Luckily, NYC has plenty of roommate-finding websites. How do … Read more

New York City’s rental broker fees are difficult to understand and navigate. There was even a legal challenge to potentially banning NYC broker fees at one point, but they are still around and perfectly legal.  What is a NYC Broker’s Fee? In NYC, a broker’s fee is the fee a renter will pay to a … Read more

As a landlord, it’s important to vet your tenants thoroughly to ensure they will be able to pay the rent each month. In addition to running their financial reports and credit check, you may also want to check their rental history. A rental history check is a report which lists all the properties a tenant … Read more

In New York City, the rent is exceedingly high, so the local government incentivized landlords to offer apartments at a discounted rate. That’s why income-restricted apartments are in such high demand.  What are income-restricted apartments? Income-restricted apartments are residences rented out at a price below the market rate. These apartments are part of a public … Read more

If you’re looking for an apartment, you’ve probably already noticed that there are many different types of apartments available and being marketed to renters.  Having lots of different types of apartments can be a good thing. After all, it means you have a lot more selection, but it can also be confusing if you don’t … Read more

Affordable housing is a major concern for many New Yorkers. But unfortunately, there aren’t enough affordable units as there are residents who need them. So, to make the system as fair as possible, the city created devised the NYC Housing lottery. This system allows qualified New York City residents to enter a pool of other … Read more

The high rents charged by New York City landlords mean that not everyone who needs a place to stay can qualify for an apartment independently. But just because you don’t make 40x the rent as most landlords require doesn’t mean you are entirely out of luck. Many apartments will still accept your application if you … Read more

It’s very common for landlords to require a credit check before approval of your rental application. This might seem like a major hurdle if you’re trying to get your first apartment and have no credit history. Luckily, you can rent an apartment without credit, but it will take a bit of extra preparation. Renting an … Read more

Landlords can charge whatever they like to rent a unit in a building they own (except for rent-regulated apartments). However, tenants also have the right to negotiate.  With so much competition from other potential renters, negotiating with an NYC landlord can often be challenging. But if you’ve built a solid relationship or have some additional … Read more