Forest Hills Renter's Guide: Housing and Transit

Most Forest Hills rentals are apartments in mid-century elevator buildings, many of them co-ops, along and near Queens Boulevard. The rest are mainly houses and two-family homes on quieter blocks, including the private Forest Hills Gardens enclave. Before you apply, check whether the unit is a co-op sublet, a condo rental or a regular rental apartment, because each comes with different approval steps and tenant protections.

The figures below come from the city's PLUTO land-use data and the MTA's station data. They describe the neighborhood as City Planning draws it, not any one building.

What the housing looks like

Forest Hills has two very different halves. By lot count it is mostly houses: 70% of residential lots are one-family homes and 17% are two-family homes. But by number of homes it is an apartment neighborhood: two-thirds of all homes are in elevator buildings, and about 75% are in buildings with 50 or more units.

The middle of that table is almost empty. Fewer than one home in ten is in a building of 3 to 49 units, so a Forest Hills rental is usually either a whole or part house (where Good Cause Eviction and rent stabilization often do not apply) or an apartment in a large building, where the first question is whether the building is a co-op, a condo or a rental. Building size also sets basic duties: HPD requires buildings with three or more units to register with the agency each year and to provide a working smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector in every apartment.

Most apartments are mid-century. By PLUTO's year-built field, about 39% of homes are in buildings from 1930–1949 and 45% from 1950–1979. About 8% are in buildings from before 1930, and about 8% in buildings from 1980 or later. Year built in PLUTO is often an estimate, so confirm the date for the building you are considering.

Forest Hills Gardens

Forest Hills Gardens is a privately maintained planned community within Forest Hills. Its governing body, the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation, says it was founded in 1909, designed by Grosvenor Atterbury and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., and describes it as the first planned garden community in the United States. The corporation maintains the streets, sidewalks and green spaces, approves exterior changes to buildings, and runs its own parking decal system. Membership is limited to property owners.

If you rent a house or apartment inside the Gardens, ask the owner how parking works for tenants and whether any community rules apply to you. Those rules come from the corporation, not from city tenant law.

Getting around

The Queens Boulevard subway line runs through the neighborhood. Forest Hills–71 Av is served by the E, F, M and R and is listed as accessible. 67 Av is served by the M and R, and 75 Av by the E and F. Kew Gardens–Union Tpke (E, F), also accessible, sits at the eastern edge.

The LIRR's Forest Hills station is in the City Terminal Zone, fare zone 1, and the MTA lists it as fully accessible. It is an option if you work near a Manhattan LIRR terminal and the fare fits your budget.

By straight-line distance, about 82% of homes are within half a mile of a subway station, and nearly all are within a mile. Use the commute cost vs rent calculator to compare a cheaper unit farther from the station against one closer in.

Which kind of rental is it?

Sources for the table: HPD says homes in co-op and condo buildings are exempt from Good Cause Eviction, as are owners of 10 or fewer units statewide and owner-occupied buildings with 10 or fewer apartments. HCR and the Rent Guidelines Board describe which buildings are stabilized; the Rent Guidelines Board adds that once a building converts to a co-op or condo, a stabilized tenant already living there keeps renewal rights, but an apartment rented to someone new after the conversion is no longer stabilized. The deposit cap of one month's rent comes from NY General Obligations Law §7-108.

Renting a co-op apartment

With about 42% of homes in co-op buildings, many Forest Hills listings are sublets from shareholders. Expect the board to review you before you move in. Ask the owner for the building's sublet policy, the application fees, how long approval usually takes and how long the board allows sublets to last. Get the approval in writing. Our co-op sublet rules and renting a condo or co-op unit guides go through the process.

Renting in an older elevator building

About 24% of homes are in non-co-op, non-condo buildings with six or more units built before 1974, which is the basic profile for rent stabilization. That is a starting point, not proof. Check with the rent-stabilized checker and, if it looks likely, request the rent history.

In a building from the 1930s to 1970s, also ask about:

• Elevator outages and whether the building has more than one elevator.
• Heat. From October 1 to May 31 the building must keep apartments at 68°F or more during the day when it is below 55°F outside, and 62°F or more at night. Hot water must be at least 120°F all year.
• Open HPD violations for leaks, mold or pests, and any pending DOB work such as facade repairs.

Checks before you sign

1. 1

   Search the address

   Use the Roofy building lookup (/nyc) to see the building class, year built, units and open violations.
2. 2

   Confirm the rental type

   Co-op, condo, rental building or house. Ask the owner or agent directly and compare with the building class.
3. 3

   Get any board approval in writing

   For co-op sublets, do not move in or pay rent until the board approves.
4. 4

   Check stabilization

   For 6+ unit rental buildings built before 1974, request your rent history from HCR.
5. 5

   Check Good Cause coverage

   Ask whether the owner claims an exemption. Landlords must state coverage in required notices.
6. 6

   Price the commute and the move

   Compare subway and LIRR costs and total your move-in cash.