Albany, NY Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Albany requires blanket registration of rental housing. Section 231-131 states that all rental dwelling units shall be registered, and carves out exactly one exception: where the agreement governing the rental unit is between individuals related by lineal consanguinity or directly by marriage. In practical terms that covers a parent, child, grandparent, grandchild or spouse; renting to a sibling, cousin, friend or stranger is not exempt. Section 231-132 sets out what the registry holds, all of it supplied by the owner on forms available from the Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance.

Owner information means the name, legal residence address and telephone number of each owner, and where the owner is a corporate entity, the names, addresses and telephone numbers of at least one officer, partner or member responsible for the property, an address for service of process, and the entity Employer Identification Number where applicable. The city also requires identity documentation: a copy of government-issued identification, or the driver license number or social security number, for each owner, or for the responsible officer, partner or member of a corporate owner.

Where an agent of the owner controls the rental dwelling, the agent name, contact address and telephone number must be provided. The registration further requires TWO EMERGENCY CONTACTS for the dwelling, designated primary and secondary, each with a name, telephone number, email address and contact address. Property information completes the record. The service-of-process address and the two-contact requirement are the practical heart of the scheme: the city is ensuring there is always a reachable responsible person attached to every rental address.