A guide to rent-stabilized apartments, temporary bookshelf walls, & more

This week readers turned to Brick Underground’s updated guide to rent-stabilized apartments. These apartments, which have limited rent increases set by the Rent Guidelines Board and automatic lease renewals, can make living in New York City affordable, and landing one of these units can be life changing. 

The Rent Guidelines Board recently approved an increase of 3 percent for one-year leases. For two-year leases, it's a little complicated: The first-year rent increase is capped at 2.75 percent and the second-year rent increase is 3.2 percent of the first-year rent.

Also of interest: A round up of companies that sell and install temporary bookshelf walls, which can be used to create a bedroom, home office, or nursery. Unlike temporary pressurized walls, freestanding bookcase walls do not require DOB permitting—they’re considered furniture.

Here are this week's top five posts:

1) The insider's guide to rent-stabilized apartments: Essential knowledge for New York renters

2) Temporary bookshelf walls you can live with legally: A guide for NYC renters

3) Manhattan is neither a buyer's or seller's market right now

4) I need a contractor for a small renovation project, but my co-op requires hefty insurance coverage. How do I find someone to do the job?

5) No co-signer for your rental? No problem—try these 6 guarantor work-arounds