How to request your rent history from NY HCR
Get your apartment’s registered rent history from NY HCR online, by phone, email, mail (Form REC-1) or in person, then read it for signs of a rent overcharge.
6 min read · Updated
Ask New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) for your apartment's rent history through its online "Submit your Inquiry" portal, by calling 833-499-0343, or by email. The history is mailed to the apartment address. The record shows the rent your landlord registered each year, which is how you confirm the apartment is rent stabilized and check whether your rent has gone up by more than the law allows.
At a glance
- Who can ask
- The tenant
- Or the owner or an authorized representative; others must use FOIL
- Phone
- 833-499-0343
- HCR Office of Rent Administration
- Delivered to
- The apartment address
- By mail only
- Not stabilized?
- Nothing arrives
- Per the City’s rent stabilization page
Who can get a rent history
HCR treats rent records as confidential. Its Records Access page says records can be accessed as of right by the tenant of the apartment, the owner of record, or their authorized representative (with written authorization or a power of attorney). Anyone else has to file a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request. The City's page puts it simply: you can only request a rent history for your own address, and it will only be mailed to you there.
If you're apartment hunting and want to know about a unit you don't live in yet, ask the landlord for the rent history or the prior lease, and use our stabilization test on the building.
Five ways to request it
| How | What you give | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online portal | portal.hcr.ny.gov/app/ask | Name, email (or N/A), full address with apt and ZIP | Most people |
| Phone | 833-499-0343, rent history option | Full address with apt number | No internet access |
| [email protected] | Full address with apt number | A written record of your request | |
| Mail (Form REC-1) | Records Access Officer, Jamaica NY | REC-1 plus proof of tenancy | Representatives and formal requests |
| In person | Borough rent office, by appointment | Photo ID and proof of tenancy | Getting help reading it |
Online, step by step
- 1
Open HCR’s inquiry portal
Go to portal.hcr.ny.gov/app/ask (“Submit your Inquiry”). - 2
Pick the right reason
Choose “Apartment rent history”, or “Am I rent stabilized?” if you’re not sure. - 3
Enter the exact address
Your name, an email address (or “N/A”), and the building address with apartment number and ZIP code. Double-check the apartment number. - 4
Submit and keep the confirmation
Screenshot or save the confirmation. HCR prints the history and mails it to the apartment address. - 5
Follow up if nothing arrives
If you hear nothing, it may mean the apartment is not registered as stabilized. If you think it should be, call 833-499-0343 or ask a tenant lawyer to help you file a status inquiry or complaint.
By mail with Form REC-1
Fill out Form REC-1, "Request for Records Access." HCR's Records Access page says sections 1, 2 and 3 must be completed by the requester, you select only one category from sections 4 through 8, and you sign and date it. Attach proof of identity and occupancy: for a rent-stabilized apartment, a copy of your lease, a rent receipt or a rent bill (for rent control, a utility bill, rent receipt or rent bill). Mail it to:
New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, Office of Rent Administration, Records Access Officer, Records Access Unit, 92-31 Union Hall Street, 6th floor, Jamaica, New York 11433.
In person
Borough and district rent offices see people by appointment only. Bring photo ID and proof of tenancy; you'll fill out an access-to-records form there. Contact details are on HCR's contact page.
What the rent history shows
Owners of stabilized apartments must register each unit with HCR every year, giving the rent as of April 1, and give the tenant a copy. The rent history is a printout of those registrations. HCR's overcharge-complaint instructions describe it as the rent registered by the owner within the past six years, and stress that it is not a determination of the lawful rent.
| Item | What it means | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Registration year | Each year the owner filed | Gaps: missing years can matter in an overcharge case |
| Apartment status | The status the owner registered for the unit that year | A status other than rent stabilized after June 14, 2019 deserves a close look |
| Tenant name | The tenant on record that year | Changes show vacancies (new leases) |
| Legal regulated rent | The maximum rent allowed that year | Year-to-year increases versus the Rent Guidelines Board rates |
| Actual or preferential rent | A lower rent actually charged, if any | Whether your renewals were calculated on the rent you actually pay |
| Lease start and end dates | The lease term registered | Whether each increase matches a one- or two-year guideline |
| Reasons for increases | Where shown, why the rent changed (renewal, vacancy, improvement) | Big jumps tied to improvements need documentation |
Exact labels vary by year and printout. For help reading yours, NYC tenants can call 311 and ask for the Tenant Helpline (Tenant Support Unit), which the City lists for this purpose.
Red flags for an overcharge
- Increases above the guideline. Compare each renewal increase with the Rent Guidelines Board rate for that year. For leases starting October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 the rates were 3% (one year) and 4.5% (two years); for leases starting October 1, 2026 the Board voted 0% for both.
- Large jumps at vacancy. Since the 2019 law there is no statutory vacancy increase. HCR says a new (vacancy) lease can include one Rent Guidelines Board adjustment, plus any lawful improvement increases. A bigger jump between tenants usually needs to be explained by an individual apartment improvement (IAI) with proof. See MCI and IAI rent increases.
- Your rent doesn't match the registered rent. If you pay more than the legal regulated rent registered for your lease period, that difference is a potential overcharge.
- Preferential rent dropped at renewal. If you had a preferential rent, renewal increases should be based on what you were paying. Check with the preferential rent calculator.
- Missing registrations or a sudden "exempt" status with no clear reason.
Run the numbers with the rent overcharge estimator. If it looks like an overcharge, read how to file a rent overcharge complaint. HCR's Fact Sheet #26 is designed to be read alongside the rent history to check whether the rent is lawful.
Re-verified 2026-10-12. nyc.gov/rentstabilization: portal reasons, phone 833-499-0343 (rent history option), email [email protected] with full address and apt, in-person borough office, own-address-only and mailed-only rule, nothing in the mail if not stabilized, 311 Tenant Helpline (Tenant Support Unit). HCR tenant-issues page: Submit your Inquiry portal, borough office by appointment with photo ID and proof of tenancy, REC-1 to Records Access Officer. HCR Records Access page: as-of-right access for tenant/owner/representative, FOIL for others, REC-1 sections 1-3 plus one of 4-8, proof of occupancy types, Jamaica NY 11433 address, 25 cents/page paper copies. Removed the "free" claim: no HCR or City page found stating the fee. FS-1: annual April 1 registration with tenant copy. FS-26 (07/2026): six-year lookback, rider, vacancy leases may take one guideline adjustment (added). RA-89.1 (12/23): printout shows six years of registered rents and is not a legal-rent determination. RGB Orders #57 (3%/4.5%) and #58 (0%/0%) confirmed.
Sources
- Rent Stabilization (request your rent history) · City of New York (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Most Common Rent Regulation Issues for Tenants · NYS Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Records Access · NYS Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Ask HCR: Submit your Inquiry · NYS Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Fact Sheet #1: Rent Stabilization and Rent Control, FS-01 (01/2024) · NYS Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Fact Sheet #26: Guide to Rent Increases for Rent Stabilized Apartments, FS-26 (07/2026) · NYS Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- 2025-26 Apartment/Loft Order #57 · NYC Rent Guidelines Board (accessed October 12, 2026)
- 2026-27 Apartment/Loft Order #58 · NYC Rent Guidelines Board (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Form RA-89: Tenant’s Complaint of Rent Overcharges (instructions, RA-89.1 12/23) · NYS Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR) (accessed October 12, 2026)
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change; confirm with the agency or a professional before you act.