Free New York 10-Day Notice to Cure (Holdover)
New York 10-day notice to cure curable lease violations. The 10 days comes from the lease, or from Rent Stabilization Code §2524.3(a) for a rent-stabilized apartment; New York fixes no statewide pre-suit cure period. Tenant has 10 days to cure the violation or face holdover summary proceeding. Rent-stabilized tenancies governed by RSC §2524.3.
Free New York 10-Day Notice to Cure (Holdover) — overview
A New York 10-Day Notice to Cure (Holdover) is a New York 10-day cure notice for curable lease violations. New York has no statewide statute setting a pre-suit cure period: the 10 days comes from the lease, or from Rent Stabilization Code §2524.3(a) for a rent-stabilized apartment (15 days if the notice is mailed). The notice gives the tenant 10 days to fix the violation. For incurable violations (nuisance, illegal use), use a non-cure holdover notice instead.
Complete the 10-Day Notice to Cure (Holdover)
Complete the form below to generate a New York 10-Day Notice to Cure (Holdover). The notice must specifically identify the violation, the lease provision violated, the deadline to cure (or notice of incurable violation), and proper service. Vague or improperly served notices can be dismissed by the court and force you to start over.
⚠ Curable vs. Incurable Violations
Most lease violations are CURABLE — the tenant gets a deadline to fix the problem. Some are INCURABLE under state law (drug activity, violence against other tenants, repeated material violations within a specific period). Under Rent Stabilization Code §2524.3(a) and ordinary lease cure clauses, lease violations that are CAPABLE of being cured qualify for the 10-day cure notice; New York has no statewide statute fixing the period. Common curable violations: unauthorized pets, noise, occupancy violations (extra occupants), smoking, unauthorized alterations. INCURABLE violations typically require non-cure holdover under different procedures: nuisance, illegal use of premises, drug-related criminal activity. Rent-stabilized tenancies have specific limited grounds under §2524.3. HSTPA (2019) shifted burdens in favor of tenants. Always verify whether the specific violation is curable under both NY law and the lease. Using the wrong type of notice can dismiss your eviction case.
1. Tenant Information
2. Rental Property
3. Lease Violation
4. Cure Required (or Notice of Incurable Violation)
New York fixes no statewide statutory pre-suit cure period. The 10 days comes from the lease, or from Rent Stabilization Code §2524.3(a) for a rent-stabilized apartment (15 days where the notice is mailed). Count 10 calendar days from service. RPAPL §753(4) additionally requires the court to grant a mandatory thirty-day stay to cure a lease breach before the warrant issues, statewide. Service must comply with HSTPA-strengthened rules.
5. Method of Service
6. Landlord / Agent Signature
About the New York 10-Day Notice to Cure (Holdover)
New York has no statute setting a pre-suit cure period for a lease violation. The 10-day cure notice is the typical pre-litigation step for curable violations because it is what the lease provides and, for a rent-stabilized apartment, what Rent Stabilization Code §2524.3(a) requires (10 days, or 15 if the notice is mailed). RPAPL §753 is a separate provision that stays the warrant AFTER judgment. The notice must be in writing and must: (1) specifically describe the violation (what conduct, when, where), (2) cite the lease provision breached, (3) state that the tenant has 10 days to cure or face a holdover proceeding, and (4) be properly served. Common curable violations: unauthorized pets, noise complaints, occupancy violations (extra people living in the unit beyond lease terms), smoking in non-smoking units, unauthorized alterations to the premises. Incurable violations (commercial nuisance, illegal use, drug-related criminal activity) require a non-cure holdover notice under different procedures. Rent-stabilized tenancies are subject to Rent Stabilization Code §2524.3, which enumerates specific grounds for non-renewal and restricts the landlord’s ability to terminate or refuse renewal. HSTPA (2019) significantly strengthened these protections. Additionally, RPAPL §753(4) provides that where the proceeding is based on a breach of the lease the court shall grant a thirty-day stay of issuance of the warrant during which the tenant may correct the breach. It is mandatory, not discretionary, it is thirty days rather than “up to” thirty, and it applies statewide. Ten days was the pre-2019 figure, replaced by the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019.
New York Notice Framework
- Pre-suit cure period: the lease, or Rent Stabilization Code §2524.3(a) for a rent-stabilized apartment — no statewide statute fixes one
- Cure period: 10 days pre-litigation (15 where the notice is mailed, under RSC §2524.3(a))
- RPAPL §753(4): mandatory 30-day cure stay before the warrant issues, statewide (ten days was the pre-2019 figure)
- Rent-stabilized: RSC §2524.3 controls (limited grounds for non-renewal)
- HSTPA (2019) strengthened tenant protections
- Notice must specifically describe the violation and cite lease provision
Common Mistakes That Get Lease-Violation Notices Dismissed
- Using 10-day cure for incurable violations (nuisance, illegal use)
- Vague description of the violation (Housing Court rejects)
- Not citing the lease provision breached
- Improper service under HSTPA-strengthened rules
- Treating rent-stabilized as free-market (RSC §2524.3 controls)
- Filing holdover proceeding before 10-day cure period expires
- Ignoring the mandatory 30-day cure stay under RPAPL §753(4)
Curable vs. Incurable Violations
Under NY law, CURABLE violations qualifying for the 10-day cure notice include: unauthorized pets, noise complaints, occupancy violations, smoking in non-smoking units, unauthorized alterations. INCURABLE violations (require non-cure holdover): nuisance behavior (continuous, severe disturbance of other tenants), illegal use of the premises (drug-related activity, commercial use in residential), repeated material violations. Rent-stabilized tenants enjoy additional protections under RSC §2524.3, which lists specific grounds for non-renewal: owner use, demolition, withdrawal from market, conversion – and limits the landlord’s ability to terminate for cause. Consult counsel before classifying a violation, especially for rent-stabilized units.
Service Requirements
Service under RPAPL §735 (HSTPA-strengthened): (1) personal delivery to the tenant; (2) substituted service on a person of suitable age and discretion at the premises + mailing; (3) conspicuous-place service (posting + mailing) only when personal/substituted cannot be made after diligent effort. The affidavit of service must document method and diligent efforts. NYC Housing Court rigorously enforces service rules.
What Happens If Tenant Cures Within the Deadline
If the tenant fully cures within 10 days, the tenancy continues. Cure must be COMPLETE – partial or temporary cure may not suffice for recurring violations. RPAPL §753(4) also gives a further cure right – where the proceeding is based on a breach of the lease, the court shall grant a thirty-day stay of issuance of the warrant during which the tenant may correct the breach. This is a tenant-protective feature unique to New York.
What Happens If Tenant Does Not Cure or Vacate
If the tenant does not cure within 10 days, the landlord files a holdover summary proceeding in NYC Housing Court (or applicable county court). Service of the summons and petition must comply with RPAPL §735. The tenant may interpose defenses including: defective cure notice, curability of the violation, retaliation (RPL §223-b), warranty of habitability (RPL §235-b), or (for rent-stabilized) absence of §2524.3 grounds. Housing Court is highly tenant-protective. After judgment, the RPAPL §753(4) thirty-day cure stay is mandatory where the ground is a breach of the lease. Warrant of eviction is executed by NYC Marshals.
Related Resources
- New york landlord tenant laws
- New york habitability laws
- New york security deposit laws
- New york eviction notice laws
- New york late fee laws
- Landlord forms
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a New York 10-day notice to quit the same document as a 10-day notice to cure?
No, and the difference decides which proceeding you can bring. A 10-day notice to cure tells a tenant who has a lease or tenancy to fix a breach within ten days. A 10-day notice to quit is the notice named in RPAPL § 713, which opens a summary proceeding on grounds where no landlord-tenant relationship exists at all. The two documents address opposite situations. Serving a notice to quit on someone who is actually your tenant, or a cure notice on an occupant who never was one, invites dismissal and a fresh start on the correct predicate.
Which New York statute actually requires a 10-day notice to quit?
RPAPL § 713. Its opening line provides that a special proceeding may be maintained after a ten-day notice to quit has been served in the manner prescribed in RPAPL § 735, on the grounds listed in that section. Those grounds include squatters and intruders, licensees whose licence has expired or been revoked, the tenant of a life tenant holding over, a purchaser at a foreclosure or tax sale, and a former owner remaining after conveying title. Two grounds in § 713 expressly need no notice at all: forcible or unlawful entry, and possession held as an incident of employment.
Does an ordinary holdover under RPAPL § 711(1) require a 10-day notice to quit?
Not under § 711 itself. RPAPL § 711(1) makes the ground the tenant continuing in possession after the expiration of the term without permission, and it sets no notice-to-quit period. What ends the term is a different step: a lease that has run out, or a termination or non-renewal notice under RPL § 226-c timed to the tenant’s length of occupancy. Section 711(1) also warns that a proceeding based on a lease clause letting the landlord terminate for an objectionable tenant is not maintainable unless the landlord proves by competent evidence that the tenant is objectionable.
If no statute fixes a pre-suit cure period, where do the ten days come from?
From the lease, or from the Rent Stabilization Code for a stabilized apartment. Section 2524.3(a) of 9 NYCRR lets an owner proceed where the tenant is violating a substantial obligation of the tenancy and has failed to cure after written notice that the violation cease within ten days; if that notice is served by mail, five days are added, for a total of fifteen. Outside stabilization, the ten days is a contract term, not a statutory one, so read the lease’s own cure clause and follow whatever period and method it specifies.
Can I use this notice when the tenant simply has not paid rent?
No. Nonpayment runs on its own track. RPAPL § 711(2) requires a written demand for the rent giving at least fourteen days’ notice, in the alternative, to pay or surrender possession, served as prescribed in RPAPL § 735. That fourteen-day demand must also append or contain the notice required by RPL § 231-c, which addresses whether the premises are covered by the good cause eviction law. A cure notice or a notice to quit will not substitute for the fourteen-day rent demand, and mixing the two predicates is a common reason nonpayment petitions fail.
What is the 30-day stay under RPAPL § 753(4)?
It is a second, post-judgment chance to cure that operates independently of anything in your notice. RPAPL § 753(4) provides that where the proceeding is based upon a claim that the tenant or lessee has breached a provision of the lease, the court shall grant a thirty day stay of issuance of the warrant, during which the respondent may correct the breach. The verb is “shall”, so it is not discretionary, and § 753(5) makes any lease provision waiving the section void as against public policy. Plan the timeline around it.
How must the notice be served?
RPAPL § 735 sets the manner: personal delivery to the respondent; or delivery to a person of suitable age and discretion residing or employed at the property, if upon reasonable application admittance can be obtained and such a person found; or, failing that, affixing a copy to a conspicuous part of the property or placing it under the entrance door. Either of the last two methods must be followed within one day by mailing, both by registered or certified mail and by regular first class mail, to the addresses § 735 specifies. Keep an affidavit documenting the method and the reasonable application.
Does any of this apply to a rent-stabilized apartment?
Only partly, and you should not treat the general rules as controlling. A New York City rent-stabilized tenancy runs on the Rent Stabilization Code, 9 NYCRR Part 2524, which permits a proceeding only on the enumerated grounds in § 2524.3 and only after the termination notice required by § 2524.2. Stabilized units outside New York City are covered instead by the Emergency Tenant Protection Regulations, 9 NYCRR Part 2504, which parallel but do not duplicate the City rules. Identify the regime before drafting anything, and use our dedicated rent-stabilized pages for those tenancies.
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⚖ Legal Disclaimer
This form is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Eviction is a complex legal proceeding with strict procedural requirements; improper notice or service can dismiss your case. For NY tenant resources, visit NY DHCR and (for NYC) NYC HPD. Consult a qualified New York landlord-tenant attorney before serving an eviction notice.
