How to Apply for an Apartment in NYC

The document folder

Build this before your first tour, as a single folder you can send in one message. Everything below is standard across most New York buildings, and having it ready is the difference between applying the same day and applying three days later.

1. 01

   Government-issued photo ID

   A driver's license, passport or state ID.

2. 02

   Recent pay stubs

   Usually the last two or three, and usually dated within the last thirty days. Older ones get sent back.

3. 03

   Employment verification letter

   On company letterhead, stating your title, start date and salary. Human resources teams produce these on request, and it is worth asking before you need it.

4. 04

   Tax returns and bank statements

   Two years of full 1040s with schedules, and two or three months of checking and savings statements. Essential if you are self-employed, and often asked for even if you are not.

5. 05

   A landlord reference

   Confirming you paid on time and left in good standing. If this is your first apartment, a professional reference does the same job.

6. 06

   Anything specific to your situation

   Self-employed applicants are often asked for an accountant letter, business statements and 1099s. Applicants without US credit history should ask the leasing team for its official checklist rather than assembling documents on guesswork.

How income is reviewed

Income is the first thing most landlords look at, and guidelines differ widely between management companies. The only reliable way to know what a building looks for is to ask its leasing team before you apply.

In New York City, landlords are required by law to accept all lawful sources of income, including housing vouchers and public assistance, without discrimination. Program-specific protections can change which income or guarantor requirements lawfully apply, so ask leasing for official guidance rather than assuming.

What tends to count

• Salary and wages, as shown on pay stubs and an offer letter. The simplest case.
• Bonuses and commissions, treated differently by different landlords. If they are a real part of your compensation, bring two years of tax returns that show the pattern.
• Self-employment income, normally two years of returns and sometimes an accountant letter.
• Investment and rental income, sometimes counted. Bring statements.
• A roommate's income, generally counted together with yours when you apply together.

What the credit report shows

Expectations vary building to building, and many landlords weigh the whole report rather than the score alone. What the report shows beyond the number:

• Payment history. Late payments on rent or utilities carry more weight than most people expect.
• Collections. Medical debt in collections is generally viewed differently from consumer credit collections.
• Balances against income. Large student loan or card balances can raise questions even alongside a good score.
• Housing court history. A prior eviction filing appears on the record and is a serious hurdle even where it was dismissed.
• Bankruptcy. A recent one makes approval harder and is worth raising yourself rather than letting it surface.

Pull your report before you start looking. AnnualCreditReport.com is the federally authorized free source. Check for accounts that are not yours, wrong balances and old errors, and dispute them with the bureau directly, because a surprise on the report at application time costs days you do not have.

Guarantors

A guarantor may be an option, but acceptance and requirements vary, and housing-program protections can change whether a guarantor may be required at all. Confirm the current criteria with the property's leasing team before anyone starts gathering paperwork.

A personal guarantor

Someone who co-signs and agrees to cover rent if you cannot. Ask the leasing team four things: whether personal guarantors are accepted for this residence and profile, which financial and identity documents the guarantor must provide, whether any location or residency rules apply, and how program protections affect the request.

An institutional guarantor

Companies that act as guarantor for a fee. Before paying one, confirm that the building accepts that specific provider, ask the provider which documents it currently requires, and get the fee, the refund terms and the exact lease obligation in writing. Acceptance is decided by the landlord, not by the provider's marketing.

The process, step by step

1. 01

   Tour the home

   See the actual residence, in person where possible. Ask about the available date, the lease term and any current incentive on that specific home. Take photographs and notes, because three apartments later they blur.

2. 02

   Submit through the official link

   Use the application link the leasing team gives you, send only the documents requested, and review the screening charge before paying it.

3. 03

   Consent to screening

   The leasing team explains the lawful screening process, the consent required and the expected timing for that application. Ask what happens if something on the report needs explaining.

4. 04

   Approval, or a request for more

   Either an approval or a request for additional documentation. Answering the second within hours rather than days is most of what separates a fast application from a lost one.

5. 05

   Read the lease, and read the riders

   The term, the payment instructions and every itemized signing or move-in charge. This is the document that governs everything anybody told you verbally.

   The riders are the part people skim. A rider is a short separate page stapled to the lease, usually one topic each, and it is where the real conditions live. In New York you will typically see a window guard rider, a lead-paint disclosure and pamphlet for an older building, a bedbug disclosure, a sprinkler notice, and a rent stabilization rider if the apartment is stabilized. Add a pet addendum or a parking agreement where those apply. Ask which riders come with this lease before signing day, read them then, and keep your own copy of every one you sign.

6. 06

   Move in

   Keys, movers, and the part you were actually looking forward to.

Timing varies by property, application, program and how complete your documents are. Ask leasing what to expect and how they will follow up, rather than guessing from a general guide.

What you pay, and what the law caps

Two of these are limited by law, which is worth knowing before anyone asks you for money.

Those two caps get treated as rumor, and they are written down. The City’s Tenant Bill of Rights states them in two short sentences: you are entitled to “a security deposit that does not exceed one month’s rent”, and “Landlords are not allowed to charge you more than $20 for an apartment application.” If a number larger than either one appears on a form, that is a question to ask before it is a payment to make.

Ask for a complete, itemized list of required and optional charges before you apply or sign. Do not infer a total from a general guide, this one included: rely on applicable law, the official leasing materials and the executed lease.

What the City says you are entitled to

The Tenant Bill of Rights is one page, it is published by HPD, and almost nobody reads it before applying. Five of its statements are worth carrying into any application.

• The deposit cap. “A security deposit that does not exceed one month’s rent.”
• The application cap. “Landlords are not allowed to charge you more than $20 for an apartment application.”
• Renewal notice. “An agreed upon lease, that must give you at least 30 days’ renewal notice from your landlord.”
• Source of income. A safe and accessible home regardless of lawful source of income, which the page states includes rent subsidies such as Section 8.
• Condition. “A clean and well-maintained home clear of mold, leaks, and garbage, including public areas.”

HPD’s wider tenants’ rights page adds two things worth knowing at signing rather than at move-out. You are entitled to get your security deposit back with interest at the end of the tenancy. And if the apartment is rent controlled or rent stabilized, DHCR and the Rent Guidelines Board determine what the landlord may increase the rent by, rather than the landlord alone. Ask which category an apartment is in while you are still choosing between apartments.

Broker fees and the FARE Act

The Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act took effect on June 11, 2025, and it changed who pays a broker in New York City. The rule is short: the party who hires the broker pays the broker.

• A broker the landlord hired to market and fill the apartment may not charge you its fee. Other tenant-paid charges still have to be disclosed and reviewed separately.
• A broker you hired to search on your behalf is yours to pay.
• A no-fee listing means the landlord paid the broker or no broker was involved. Confirm who hired the broker, and every charge, before you apply.

Before this, tenants routinely paid a broker fee, commonly quoted as a share of the annual rent in the low double digits. On a hypothetical $3,750 apartment, twelve percent of the year would have been $5,400 at signing. That is the size of the change, and it is why a listing from before June 2025 is not a guide to what you will pay now.

For 875 Fourth Avenue, review current availability and ask EXR leasing to confirm every charge that applies to the residence and the application. This site does not publish a property-specific broker-fee promise.

The FARE Act does more than move the fee, and the rest of it is the part people miss. DCWP states that all fees a prospective tenant must pay have to be disclosed “in a clear and conspicuous manner” in the listing itself, and that before signing a lease a tenant must receive an itemized written disclosure of all fees payable to the landlord. It also prohibits conditioning a rental on a tenant retaining a particular agent, or on hiring a broker at all. If a charge turns up at the signing table that was in neither the listing nor the written disclosure, you can complain to DCWP or through 311, and DCWP says a sustained charge can carry a civil penalty and restitution of the illegal fee.

Five things that should stop you

None of these is proof of anything on its own. All five are reasons to slow down and get an answer in writing before money moves.

• A deposit request above one month. The City states the cap in one sentence. A request above it needs an explanation you can check.
• An application fee above $20. Same page, same clarity. Ask for an itemized receipt for whatever you are charged.
• A charge that was in no listing and no written disclosure. The FARE Act requires both. Its absence is itself the issue.
• Pressure to pay before you have seen the lease. The lease governs everything anyone told you verbally. Read it first, every time.
• A guarantor service you were told to use. Confirm the building accepts that specific provider before you pay it, because a service fee paid to the wrong provider is not usually refundable.

If you are turned down

It happens, and it is usually about evidence rather than about you. Five steps, in this order, and most people are in a stronger position for the next application within a week.

1. 01

   Ask what the decision was based on

   Credit, income documentation, references or something that can be explained. A specific answer tells you whether to fix something or move on, and most of the time you get one by simply asking.

2. 02

   Pull your own credit report

   You are entitled to free reports from the three national bureaus through annualcreditreport.com, the site authorized under federal law. Read all three, because they do not always agree.

3. 03

   Dispute anything wrong, in writing

   Errors are common, and each bureau has a formal dispute process. Do it now rather than during your next application, because a correction takes time and the next apartment will not wait for it.

4. 04

   Close the gap in the paperwork

   Most rejections that are not about credit are about evidence: a missing letter, an unexplained deposit, a gap between roles. Assemble the paperwork that answers it and apply again somewhere else with the answer already attached.

5. 05

   Raise it if it was not lawful

   The City’s Tenant Bill of Rights states a right to a safe and accessible home regardless of lawful source of income, and names rent subsidies such as Section 8 explicitly. If a rejection turned on that, it is a complaint rather than a setback. Call 311 and ask for the Tenant Helpline.

Leasing at 875 Fourth Avenue

At 875 Fourth Avenue, this website helps you compare current residences and send an inquiry. EXR handles leasing and provides the official application materials and criteria for the home you are considering.

• Review current availability. Unit numbers, asking rents, square footage, bathrooms and listed concessions are on the availability page.
• Concessions vary by home. Select current residences list concessions of up to 2 months free as of September 18, 2026, while other homes list no concession. Confirm every incentive and lease term with EXR before relying on it.
• Request a tour. Share your preferred timing through the contact form. The website sends a request; EXR confirms available appointment times directly.
• Confirm application requirements. Ask EXR for the official link, document checklist, screening criteria, fees, guarantor options and expected timing for the specific residence.
• Confirm move-in terms. Deposits, utilities, insurance, charges and move-in procedures come from the official leasing materials and the executed lease.

Application questions