Depending on where you live in New York, rent prices can be astronomical. In NYC, the average rent price hovers around $4,176 per month. As a rule of thumb, it is recommended that your annual gross income is at least 40x the amount of your monthly rent. To comfortably afford the average price of an apartment in NYC, ideally, you’d make $167,040 a year. But the average annual income in the city is only $127,894. Many people are scraping by.
Then, every year, many people are faced with rent increases that they truly cannot afford. And if you’re on a fixed income, things are stretched thin even more. Seniors who rely primarily on Social Security or retirement savings are barely making it. That’s why New York City’s Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) program continues to attract attention from eligible renters looking for relief. The program can freeze rent increases for qualifying seniors living in certain regulated apartments, helping them remain in their homes while controlling housing costs. Here’s what you need to know about the program and how to determine if you’re eligible.
