How To Negotiate Your Rent In NYC Before Renewing Your Lease

“The bigger story continues to be the critical lack of supply,” Allia Mohamed, co-founder and chief executive of Openigloo, said.

Manhattan had 5,107 active rental listings in August, down 17 percent from a year earlier and the lowest August inventory level in at least eight years, according to the Corcoran Group’s August 2026 residential rental market report.

Brooklyn had 3,851 active listings, down 20 percent from a year earlier and the borough’s lowest August inventory since 2022.

Manhattan renters signed 4,769 new leases in August, the fewest for the month since 2020. Brooklyn recorded 1,363 signed leases, the lowest August total since Corcoran began tracking the figure in 2019.

How Can You Negotiate Your Rent?

Mohamed said renters should check whether their apartment falls under rent stabilization or Good Cause Eviction, a state law that limits when some landlords can refuse to renew leases or raise rents beyond certain thresholds.