New York Landlord-Tenant Laws (2026): Deposits, Notice, and Tenant Rights

New York caps security deposits at one month's rent for unregulated units (since the 2019 HSTPA) and requires landlords to return the deposit within 14 days with an itemized statement. Late fees are capped at $50 or 5 percent of monthly rent, whichever is less. Landlords must give tiered advance notice (30, 60, or 90 days) to end a month-to-month tenancy depending on how long the tenant has lived there.

Security deposits in New York

The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) set a statewide cap of one month's rent on security deposits for all unregulated residential tenancies. Before the HSTPA, New York had no cap for market-rate units. The cap applies to standard apartments, houses, and condominiums rented as a primary residence; rent-stabilized and rent-controlled units have their own security-deposit rules under the applicable code, which generally track the one-month standard.

At move-out, the landlord has 14 days from the date the tenant vacates to return the deposit along with a written itemized statement of deductions. New York's 14-day rule is strictly enforced: a landlord who fails to return the deposit or provide the itemization within 14 days loses the right to claim any deductions and must return the full deposit.

Allowable deductions cover unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid utility charges billed directly to the landlord, and the cost of moving and storing the tenant's belongings. Normal wear and tear (minor scuffs, small nail holes, carpet fading) is not deductible. New York courts interpret the normal wear and tear standard broadly in favor of tenants, particularly in long tenancies.

When can a landlord enter? Notice rules

New York does not set a fixed statutory number of hours for landlord entry notice in the Real Property Law. Instead, the standard is "reasonable notice." In practice, courts and housing agencies treat 24 hours as a reasonable baseline for repairs, inspections, and showings of the unit to prospective tenants or buyers.

Entry must take place at a reasonable time, generally understood as weekday business hours unless the tenant agrees otherwise. A landlord who repeatedly enters without giving reasonable notice may be liable for harassment under New York's heightened tenant-protection laws, particularly in New York City, where the NYC Human Rights Law and the NYC Tenant Protection Laws provide additional recourse.

Emergency entry is permitted without advance notice when an immediate danger to persons or property requires it, such as a fire, severe leak, or gas emergency. After an emergency entry, the landlord should notify the tenant as soon as practicable.

Lease clauses that purport to authorize unlimited or unannounced entry are not enforceable in New York courts. A tenant who experiences repeated unannounced entry should document each incident and consult an attorney or legal aid organization.

Ending a lease: notice to vacate

The HSTPA created a tiered notice period that a landlord must observe before ending a tenancy, declining to renew it, or offering a renewal with a rent increase of five percent or more (RPL 226-c). The required notice depends on the length of the tenancy:

• 30 days if the tenant has occupied the unit for less than one year.
• 60 days if the tenant has occupied the unit for between one and two years.
• 90 days if the tenant has occupied the unit for two or more years.

These tiers bind the landlord only. A tenant who wants to end a month-to-month tenancy outside New York City needs to give at least one month's notice before the end of the term under RPL 232-b, no matter how long the tenancy has run. RPL 232-a, which covers month-to-month tenancies inside New York City, is likewise a notice the landlord serves before removing a tenant, not one the tenant owes; a New York City tenant's own notice period comes from the lease or rental agreement. The landlord's notice must be in writing and clearly state the termination date. A landlord who sends insufficient notice cannot proceed with an eviction based on holdover until proper notice has been given and the applicable period has expired.

For fixed-term leases, the tenancy ends on the expiration date in the lease. For regulated units in New York City, additional renewal rights apply under the rent stabilization code; landlords must offer a renewal lease at regulated rates.

For nonpayment of rent and other lease violations, New York's eviction notice page covers the specific predicate notices required before filing an eviction proceeding in Housing Court.

Good cause eviction protections

New York's Good Cause Eviction Law, Real Property Law article 6-A (sections 210 through 218), changes the picture for many unregulated tenants. RPL 212 applies the article to the City of New York, and RPL 213 lets any village, town, or city outside the city adopt it by local law. The article is scheduled to be repealed on June 15, 2034.

Where the law applies and the unit is covered, RPL 216(1) bars a landlord from removing the tenant except on one of the grounds the statute lists as good cause, and it says so expressly even where the tenant has no written lease or the lease has expired. The ordinary sequence described above, in which a landlord simply declines to renew and starts a holdover case, is therefore not available for a covered unit.

Rent increases are constrained as well. RPL 216(1)(a)(i) creates a rebuttable presumption that an increase above the local rent standard is unreasonable, so a tenant can raise that presumption as a defense to an eviction for nonpayment of the increase.

Coverage is not universal. RPL 214 carves out units already under rent regulation, owner-occupied buildings with no more than ten units, condominium and cooperative units, units renting above 245 percent of the county fair market rent, buildings with a certificate of occupancy issued after January 1, 2009 (for 30 years), certain small landlords, and institutional and manufactured-home housing, among others. Check whether your unit is covered before relying on the protection.

Repairs and the warranty of habitability

New York Real Property Law 235-b establishes a non-waivable implied warranty of habitability for all residential rentals. The landlord must maintain the unit in a livable condition throughout the tenancy: heat and hot water, structurally safe conditions, a pest-free environment, functioning plumbing, and compliance with applicable housing codes. Any lease clause that attempts to waive this warranty is void and unenforceable.

New York does not provide a statutory repair-and-deduct remedy. Instead, if the landlord fails to address a habitability defect, a tenant has two primary remedies. First, the tenant may file a Housing Part (HP) action in Housing Court, which can result in a court order requiring repairs and a rent abatement or rent reduction to reflect the period when the unit was substandard. Second, tenants in rent-stabilized buildings can file a Decrease in Service complaint with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) to obtain a permanent rent reduction until repairs are made.

Do not simply stop paying rent over repairs without a court order or DHCR ruling. While New York courts do recognize the "repair and withhold" concept in Housing Court proceedings, unilateral rent withholding without a formal proceeding can lead to an eviction filing for nonpayment.

Landlords in New York City must also comply with the Housing Maintenance Code, which sets specific standards and timelines for addressing hazardous conditions. A tenant can report conditions to the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) for an official inspection.

Rent, late fees, and rent control

The HSTPA capped late fees statewide at $50 or 5 percent of the monthly rent, whichever is less. No grace period shorter than 5 days is permitted; a landlord cannot charge a late fee for rent received within the first 5 days after it is due. Lease clauses that impose a higher late fee or a shorter grace period are unenforceable under RPL 238-a.

For rent increases in non-regulated tenancies, New York does not require advance notice beyond the standard tiered notice; a landlord who wants to raise the rent by five percent or more must give the applicable 30/60/90-day notice under RPL 226-c and offer a new lease at the higher rate. An increase of less than five percent carries no 226-c notice duty. Refusing the new rate is treated as a non-renewal, which puts the landlord to the holdover process. For a unit covered by the Good Cause Eviction Law, that is not the end of the analysis: the landlord still needs statutory good cause to refuse renewal, and an increase above the local rent standard is presumed unreasonable.

Rent control and rent stabilization are permitted in New York under the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA) for municipalities that opt in. New York City has both rent stabilization (the largest program, covering approximately one million apartments) and a smaller legacy rent control program. Outside New York City, any locality in the state may adopt rent stabilization, and there is no population threshold. The municipality must first review a housing vacancy rate analysis covering buildings of six or more units built before January 1, 1974; only if that study finds a vacancy rate below five percent may the locality declare a housing emergency and opt in. The 2019 HSTPA removed the earlier limitation that confined the option to Nassau, Rockland, and Westchester counties. Kingston, in Ulster County, adopted stabilization on that route, while adoptions in Newburgh and Poughkeepsie were later declared null and void over defects in their vacancy studies. In stabilized buildings, rent increases are set annually by the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB), and landlords must offer renewal leases at regulated rates. In non-ETPA localities, rent increases are governed only by the lease and the tiered notice requirements.

If you have a landlord-tenant dispute in New York

Begin by documenting everything in writing. Send all repair requests, complaints, and communications to your landlord by email or certified mail to create a timestamped record. Photograph conditions with date stamps.

For deposit disputes, a tenant may file in Small Claims Court, but the limit depends on which court covers your address: $10,000 in New York City Civil Court, $5,000 in a city court elsewhere in the state, and $3,000 in a town or village justice court under UJCA 1801, which is the venue for most disputes outside a city. If your claim is larger than the limit that applies to you, ask that court's clerk about filing a regular civil action instead. The 14-day return deadline is firm, so calculate the deadline precisely and file promptly if it is missed.

For habitability disputes, file an HP action in the Housing Part of your local Civil Court (New York City) or in the local City, Town, or Village Court (rest of the state). Tenants in rent-stabilized buildings can also file with the DHCR (hcr.ny.gov) for Decrease in Service complaints or rent overcharge proceedings.

New York's statewide tenant-protection hotline is run through the New York State Homes and Community Renewal office (hcr.ny.gov). New York City tenants can contact the NYC Office of Tenant Advocate (nyc.gov/ota) or the Legal Aid Society (legalaidnyc.org) for free legal representation in housing court.

Outside New York City, community legal aid programs exist in most counties. Legal Services NYC and Empire Justice Center are statewide resources for tenants who cannot afford counsel.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Landlord-tenant rules vary by state and city and change, and some cities add their own ordinances. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed attorney or your state housing agency.

Related pages:

• Landlord-Tenant Laws by State (hub)
• New York Eviction Notice
• New York Squatters Rights

More New York Laws

• New York Property Records
• New York Restraining Order Laws
• New York Squatters Rights Laws
• New York Unclaimed Property