Your pricey apartment could actually be rent-stabilized.

That’s the case for Manhattan artist Richard Carroll Jr., who told Gothamist he unknowingly lived in a rent-stabilized apartment for nearly two decades. Carroll didn’t learn the truth until he was fighting for his lease in court.

When Carroll moved into his Harlem apartment in 2004, his landlord gave him a deal. Instead of paying the $2,000 a month assigned on the lease, Carroll paid a preferential rent of just $1,200, according to court records.

Carroll had little way of knowing that the previous tenant paid less than $500 per month. 4

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The truth came to light when Carroll went to housing court in 2022 over an eviction notice from his landlord, who took over the building after Carroll moved in.

“I was robbed for $1,000

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