Rent in NYC is really high. Here are 15 ideas that could help you get a deal.

As of May 2023, the median rent in Manhattan is now $4,500. That's an increase of 7% over 12 months prior, according to a Corcoran report – an all-time high and the steepest in the country. And if you’ve done any apartment hunting in the past couple of years, you may have PTSD: Bidding wars and lines around the block just to see a unit have become commonplace.

You know summer is an expensive time to start a lease, and that you’re not getting any deals in the West Village or Chelsea, but beyond that, what’s a renter to do?

Here are 15 tips from nine top rental experts in New York and New Jersey.

Talk to everyone you know.

Inventory everywhere is very low, so one key is to cut out the competition, says Amy Owens at Keller Williams in Essex County, New Jersey. If you spread the word that you’re looking for a place, you have a better chance of being first in line for a property. Chat up coworkers, neighbors and friends (and even their friends). Email distant family members and their friends. This could help you be first in line for a new rental listing, helping you avoid a rent-inflating bidding war.

Put together a killer application.

“This is not the moment to be modest,” says Brian Hourigan, managing director at Bond New York.

If you’re applying for approval based on employment income — as opposed to public assistance vouchers, investments, or some other form of income —then you’ll have to submit the usual: tax returns, pay stubs, letter of employment (or note from your CPA verifying income if you’re an independent contractor), credit report, and statements showing liquid assets.

But, Hourigan notes, you can set yourself apart by including any investment statements plus letters that speak to your character from your current landlord, your employer, a neighbor or even a heartfelt one from yourself.

“Humanize yourself,” advises Evan Osur, associate broker at Living New York. Your goal: Make the landlord want you in that unit; then they’re more likely to negotiate on price.

Get to know brokers.

If you have your heart set on an extremely popular neighborhood or building, it might make sense to just respond to listing agents’ property ads on sites like StreetEasy. But if you’re really looking for a deal, it pays to work with your own agent, says Gary Malin, chief operating officer at Corcoran.

An experienced broker knows what is and isn’t a fair price, has relationships with landlords and other agents, has access to unlisted properties and can guide your application and negotiations. Find an agent by reaching out to a reputable agency or asking friends and colleagues for referrals.

This ain’t cheap. Generally you’ll pay a broker 15% of the annual rent of the unit they help you find; for a $3,000 apartment, that amounts to $5,400. It’s more than the one month’s rent that a listing’s agent would charge you, but could be an investment in finding a true deal — in avoiding overpriced units and landing in the sort of apartment that checks all your boxes and makes your friends go, Whoa, how’d you get this place!?

Note: A tenant’s broker fee is absolutely negotiable. “A savvy and service-oriented agent would much rather negotiate a commission in good faith to make their services more affordable for a tenant client and thereby create a lifelong relationship of repeat business together, along with the potential for that client's referrals to their family and friends,” Hourigan says.

Know that common courtesy can mean real money.

“Brokers are normal people, too,” says Alexander Bruni, an agent with Union Square properties. If you’re looking for a deal, it pays to be nice. “So many clients will ghost you, not be straightforward, play with you, keep you on a string,” Bruni says.

Show loyalty by being cordial and responsive and making it clear that you are ready to move forward when the right unit arises. Another tip: Mean what you say, advises Bruni. “I recently had a cool client who I stayed friendly with, and when I heard about an apartment that hadn’t been listed I texted her right away," he said. "There was no competition and she locked it down.”

Find a “mom and pop” landlord.

Compared to the large corporations, smaller landlords may be more willing to negotiate your rent if you’re able to show them you’ll be a valuable member of their community. “Speak to them like people,” Hourigan says, and let them know you’ll take good care of your apartment and the building’s common areas.

Once you make your case, they’re more likely to work with you on the rent. Find family-owned properties more easily through a broker, friends, Listings Project, and openigloo — a new platform that connects prospective tenants directly with well-reviewed owners and offers advice on how to communicate with landlords and brokers.

Do your homework. Then try to negotiate.

If you’re interested in a unit that seems overpriced, start a negotiation by asking the listing agent how many applications the place has, and how many showings there have been. “That’ll give you an idea for how they’re playing their cards,” says Brett Helberg, a broker with the Sukenik Glazer Team at Compass.

Research the going rate for similar units by digging into StreetEasy and CitySnap. If a unit in the same building was recently rented, call up the listing agent and ask what it went for, then calculate the price per square foot to gauge whether the asking price on the unit you want is fair.

If the unit is priced at $4,000 and you think $3,500 is fair, don’t be afraid to offer $3,250, assuming they’ll counter-offer at $3,700 and you can meet in the middle from there. “Just make sure your ask is based on factual data from the market,” Helberg says.

“Tenants have more leverage than they think,” says Allia Mohamed, founder and CEO of openigloo.

Find your leverage.

There are a few ways to get landlords in the mood to negotiate.

One: Offer to move in sooner. Every day that a unit is empty costs the landlord money, notes Osur. “So if you offer to move in immediately, the landlord might consider a price reduction.”

Two: Absorb a minor inconvenience. Showing interest in a unit on a higher floor or with a little less sunlight can cost less than a more convenient unit with an identical floorplan.

Three: Take the unit “as-is.” Offering to handle the painting and cleaning yourself could entice the owner to waive the security deposit, says Owens, the realtor in Essex County, New Jersey. Bond's Hourigan says this could knock off up to $100 per month in rent, or even slightly more depending on the unit price and the market.

Take over a lease.

Broken leases can be good opportunities to swoop into a great rental deal, since you’re potentially locking in last year’s rent rate and likely avoiding a broker fee. To find these opportunities, try LeaseBreak for listings and lease continuation info. Just be sure to consider how long is left on the lease, and any rent hikes that may follow, Malin says. Three months and that’s all you need? Great. Three months and the landlord is open to leasing to you afterward? Cool.

And if you're the one breaking a lease to get a great deal on the new place, know your rights. Thanks to the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, landlords have to let you out as long as there’s someone to take over. A good broker can help market the apartment you’re vacating so you don’t lose your security deposit, Hourigan says. You can also consider advertising it on LeaseBreak or Listings Project.

Go where the deals are.

In this new age of (at least partial) remote work, how important is it, really, to get a place that’s just steps from the train and hot restaurants?

Better deals are available in farther-flung yet still commutable and cool spots including: Riverside Drive and anything north of 96th Street in Manhattan; Astoria, Long Island City and Flushing in Queens; south of Park Slope in Brooklyn; Weehawken, Union City and Verona in New Jersey; and all of the Bronx.

You’ll still have public transit access but may find yourself walking longer distances, doing more transfers, and taking an Uber to go out to eat. “You pay for your surroundings” says Ann Wycherley, an agent with the Hudson Realty Group at Brown Harris Stevens.

Take a pass on luxe amenities.

If a deal is what you’re after, consider avoiding perks like private balconies, laundry in the unit, and elevators.

“What do you really need?” Malin suggests asking yourself. “A lot of people like to go to their own gym, or they love SoulCycle. Maybe you don’t really need a shiny new gym in your apartment building.”

In a newer building, state-of-the-art facilities could add 15%-20% to your rent, Malin says. If you don’t actually need it, don’t pay for it.

Offer to be the super.

“It’s really hard to find a good management company,” Owens says. If you’re handy, offer to be the building’s super when you apply for the place. In exchange for keeping common areas clean and wrangling repairs, a New Jersey landlord might reduce your rent by $500 or even up to $1000 per month.

Be aware that cars and pets can cost you.

If you really need a great deal on your next lease, consider putting off any plans to get your first furry friend, Owens says, noting that many landlords in New Jersey will charge $100 extra per month if you have a pet. As for a vehicle, in the ‘burbs many rentals come with one spot, but landlords might charge $50-$100 more per month if you need another. In New York, Bruni says make that $100-$250 for a pet (or, in some cases, a $1,000 deposit) and anywhere from $200 to $600 extra for parking in Manhattan and the boroughs.

Helberg notes that landlords are required to accommodate service and emotional-support animals.

Find roommates.

Sharing your space is still a leading way to pay less, though gone are the days when Craigslist was the main way to find roommates. Bruni has seen clients use roomies.com and — most commonly — private Facebook groups to hunt for a compatible soul to rent a room from (or rent out to).

Accept that speed is the name of the game.

Especially with the large landlord corps, “whoever gets in first with the paperwork gets the place,” says Pete Diaz, a broker with the SGT team at Compass. “This is a matter of hours and minutes, not days and weeks.”

Time is money for landlords, but your time is money, too. If you can get your ducks in a row, do your research and be ready to make an informed decision at lightning speed, you’ll avoid heartbreak — and rash decisions that end up costing you.

Know thyself.

Rent is potentially one of the biggest financial decisions in a person’s life. Moving is expensive. And the unit you end up leasing has all sorts of implications for your day-to-day life.

You have your best chance of landing with what you need by keeping an open mind during your hunt.

“I always tell my agents, ‘Make sure you’re showing them lots of different options,’” Malin says. “So many clients will say, ‘no, no, no’ and then end up renting the exact thing they said they didn’t want.”