New York landlord-tenant law.
Updated August 2026. New York City's rent stabilization system covers roughly a million apartments citywide; the Emergency Tenant Protection Act also lets Nassau, Westchester, and Rockland counties (and the City of Kingston) opt individual municipalities into stabilization after a vacancy study shows under 5 percent vacancy. The rest of the state has no rent control.
Deposits and any advance rent payments together cannot exceed one month's rent for any residential unit, regulated or unregulated, statewide (General Obligations Law 7-108(1-a), as amended by the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, HSTPA).
Landlord must provide an itemized statement of deductions and return any remaining deposit within 14 days after the tenant vacates; failing to do so forfeits the landlord's right to keep any of the deposit (General Obligations Law 7-108(1-a)(e) to (g)).
Landlord must serve a 14-day written rent demand (oral demands no longer suffice) before starting a nonpayment eviction proceeding (RPAPL 711(2), as amended by HSTPA 2019).
No statewide statute fixes an entry notice period; the standard is reasonable notice at a reasonable time under the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment, which the Attorney General's guidance interprets as about 24 hours for inspections and about one week for repairs, generally weekday daytime hours; no notice is required for emergencies.
Security deposits
Deposit limit. Deposits and any advance rent payments together cannot exceed one month's rent for any residential unit, regulated or unregulated, statewide (General Obligations Law 7-108(1-a), as amended by the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, HSTPA).
Getting it back. Landlord must provide an itemized statement of deductions and return any remaining deposit within 14 days after the tenant vacates; failing to do so forfeits the landlord's right to keep any of the deposit (General Obligations Law 7-108(1-a)(e) to (g)).
Late fees and rent
Late fees are capped at the lesser of $50 or 5 percent of monthly rent, cannot be charged until at least 5 days after rent is due, and must be stated in the written lease (Real Property Law 238-a).
Ending a tenancy
Nonpayment of rent. Landlord must serve a 14-day written rent demand (oral demands no longer suffice) before starting a nonpayment eviction proceeding (RPAPL 711(2), as amended by HSTPA 2019).
Month-to-month termination. Notice period scales with tenancy length: 30 days if under 1 year, 60 days if 1 to 2 years, 90 days if over 2 years (or the equivalent lease term), for both nonrenewal and rent increases of 5 percent or more (Real Property Law 226-c, added by HSTPA 2019).
Landlord entry
No statewide statute fixes an entry notice period; the standard is reasonable notice at a reasonable time under the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment, which the Attorney General's guidance interprets as about 24 hours for inspections and about one week for repairs, generally weekday daytime hours; no notice is required for emergencies.
Required disclosures
- Federal lead-based paint disclosure and EPA pamphlet for units built before 1978 (42 U.S.C. 4852d)
- Bedbug infestation history for the unit and the building over the past year (NYC Admin Code 27-2018.1, with a narrower statewide lease-renewal disclosure under Real Property Law 231-a; scope is split between NYC and the rest of the state)
- Whether the unit has a maintained, operative sprinkler system and when it was last inspected, in boldface type (Real Property Law 231-a)
- Whether the property is located in a floodplain or has previously sustained flood damage (Real Property Law, effective June 2023)
- Window guard notice and installation obligation where a child age 10 or younger resides, in multiple dwellings of 3 or more units (Multiple Dwelling Law 27-2043.1, NYC Health Code Section 131.15)
Lease clauses that do not hold up
- Waiver of the right to a jury trial in a personal injury or property damage action (Real Property Law 259-c)
- Requiring the tenant to pledge household furniture as security for rent (Real Property Law 231)
- Waiving the landlord's duty to mitigate damages if a tenant vacates before the lease ends (Real Property Law 227-e)
- Waiving the implied warranty of habitability, or restricting occupancy by the tenant's immediate family and one additional occupant plus dependents (Real Property Law 235-b and 235-f)
Notes for landlords
New York is one of the most tenant-protective states after HSTPA 2019: pay-or-quit notices were extended from 3 to 14 days, late fees are tightly capped, and deposits are capped statewide even outside rent-stabilized units. NYC and ETPA municipalities layer additional rent stabilization and just-cause eviction rules on top of these statewide baseline rules, so a product serving NYC landlords needs separate handling for stabilized units.
Sources
- https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GOB/7-108
- https://nysba.org/nys-housing-stability-and-tenant-protection-act-of-2019-part-iii-what-lawyers-must-know/
- https://rentlatefee.com/blog/new-york-late-fee-regulations
- https://empirejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/10-13-2023-Materials.pdf
- https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/226-C
- https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/259-C
- https://ag.ny.gov/publications/residential-tenants-rights-guide
- https://www.starfiresprinkler.com/post/mandatory-landlord-disclosures-in-new-york
- https://hcr.ny.gov/rent-stabilization-and-emergency-tenant-protection-act
- https://www.nyack.gov/media/ETPA(1)/fact-sheet-08-09-2022.pdf
This guide is general legal information for landlords, not legal advice. Statutes change and local ordinances can add stricter rules on top of state law. Confirm any requirement with the current statute or a licensed attorney in your state before acting on it.
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