NYC Rent Affordability Finder

Instantly calculate your maximum affordable monthly rent from income, assets, and NYC move-in costs.

1 Account Balances
Account Balance ($) Liquidity % Move-In (weighted) Reserve
Move-In Available
$0
Reserve Available
$0
2 Income
$
$
$
3 Income Screening
×
4 Move-In Costs
$
$
$
$
5 Broker Fees
FARE Act (effective June 11, 2025): NYC prohibits landlord/listing agents from charging broker fees to tenants. If the landlord's agent listed the apartment, you pay no broker fee. You may still choose to hire and pay your own tenant's broker. NYC DCWP FAQ ↗
6 Monthly & Reserves
$/mo
Max Affordable Rent
$—
per month
Limiting factor: —
Target Rent:
$
Median rents:
At Signing — Move-In Costs
First month's rent—
Security deposit—
Broker fee—
Application fee—
Building/admin fee—
Utility setup—
Pet deposit—
Total at signing—
Move-in available (weighted)—
Surplus / (Shortfall)—
Reserve Buffer
Reserve buffer (2 months)—
Total cash needed—
Reserve available—
Surplus / (Shortfall)—
Monthly Obligations
Monthly rent—
Renters insurance—
Other debts—
Total monthly—
Rent-to-income ratio—
Total DTI (all debts)—
Qualification Check
✓ Cash —
✓ Income (×) —
✓ Income (DTI) —

Two Constraints, One Result

Your maximum affordable rent is the lower of two limits:

Security Deposit Law

The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA, 2019) caps security deposits at one month's rent for most NYC rentals. The calculator defaults to 1 month.

FARE Act & Broker Fees

The FARE Act (effective June 11, 2025) prohibits landlord/listing agents from passing their broker fee to tenants. If the landlord hired the listing broker, you owe nothing. You may still choose to hire and pay your own tenant's broker. Select "No broker fee" unless you engage a tenant's broker yourself.

Reserve Buffer

The calculator keeps N months of total housing costs (rent + insurance + debts) in savings after paying all move-in costs. This is a personal finance cushion — landlords don't require it, but it's good practice.

Guarantor

A guarantor (co-signer) vouches for your rent obligations. NYC landlords typically require the guarantor's annual income to be ≥ 80× the monthly rent. Enabling the guarantor option does not change your own max rent — it surfaces a lever in the Afford Target tab showing exactly how much annual income the guarantor must demonstrate to qualify at any rent you enter.

Median Rents (Borough Presets)
StreetEasy Market Reports, March 2026. Citywide $3,995 · Manhattan $4,750 · Brooklyn $3,750 · Queens $3,100. streeteasy.com/research ↗
40× Income Rule
Standard NYC landlord practice. Some buildings use 36× or 45×; adjust the multiplier in Card 3.
Security Deposit Cap
HSTPA 2019 (NY RPL §227-g) caps deposits at 1 month for most NYC residential leases. NY Senate ↗
FARE Act
FARE Act, effective June 11, 2025. Prohibits landlord/listing agents from passing broker fees to tenants. You may still hire and pay your own tenant's broker. NYC DCWP FAQ ↗
Application Fee Cap
HSTPA 2019 caps rental application fees at $20. NYC HPD ↗
Renters Insurance
NYC average ~$15–25/month. ValuePenguin estimate ↗

This calculator is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or real estate advice. Individual landlord requirements vary.