Free New York City Rent Increase Notice

▶ Watch overview

For an unregulated (market-rate) New York City unit, a rent increase of 5% or more triggers advance written notice under Real Property Law §226-c — 30, 60, or 90 days depending on how long the tenant has lived there. A rent-stabilized unit follows the Rent Guidelines Board instead. Generate the right notice below.

30 / 60 / 90-day (RPL 226-c) N.Y. Real Prop. Law §226-c New York City Free PDF

This New York City Rent Increase Notice is for an unregulated, market-rate apartment. Under Real Property Law Section 226-c (the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019), a landlord who raises the rent by 5% or more — or declines to renew — must give written notice 30, 60, or 90 days in advance, tiered by how long the tenant has occupied the unit. A rent-stabilized apartment is different: increases are set by the Rent Guidelines Board, not this notice. Our how to raise rent guide covers the timing, and the tenant screening laws by state hub helps you place reliable tenants in the first place.

Complete the fields below to generate a New York City rent increase notice. The new rent and effective date must give the tenant the full statutory notice period. Service should comply with applicable New York law; retain proof of service.

A New York City rent increase notice is the written notice a landlord gives to raise the rent on an unregulated, market-rate apartment. The controlling rule is Real Property Law Section 226-c, added by the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019. Under that section, whenever a landlord intends to raise the rent by five percent or more, or decides not to renew the tenancy, the landlord must give advance written notice. How much notice depends on how long the tenant has lived in the unit: thirty days if the tenant has occupied the apartment for less than a year and has no lease of at least a year, sixty days if the tenant has lived there for more than one year but less than two, and ninety days once the tenant has occupied the unit for two years or more. If the landlord gives less than the required notice, the tenant may stay at the existing rent until a full, proper notice period runs.

The threshold question is whether the apartment is regulated. This notice is built for a free-market unit. A rent-stabilized apartment — and roughly a million NYC apartments are stabilized — cannot be raised at the landlord’s discretion. Its increases are fixed each year by the New York City Rent Guidelines Board, whose 2025-26 order allows 3 percent on a one-year renewal and 4.5 percent on a two-year renewal, and they are offered to the tenant on a DHCR renewal-lease form rather than a free-market notice. A landlord who serves this market-rate notice on a stabilized tenant has used the wrong instrument; use the rent-stabilized rent increase notice instead. A small number of older units remain rent-controlled and follow the separate Maximum Base Rent system.

Since 2024, New York’s Good Cause Eviction law adds a layer for many unregulated NYC units. On a covered apartment, a rent increase above the annual local rent standard — the regional Consumer Price Index plus five percent, capped at ten percent — is presumed unreasonable and can be contested by the tenant in housing court, and a landlord proposing an increase over five percent must tell the tenant whether Good Cause applies. The law does not cap rent the way stabilization does, but it gives a covered tenant a defense against an outsized increase, so a market-rate landlord should know the current standard before setting a new rent.

Motive matters too. Real Property Law Section 223-b bars retaliation: if a landlord substantially alters the terms of a tenancy — including by offering an unreasonable rent increase — within one year after the tenant makes a good-faith complaint about conditions, reports a violation, or otherwise exercises a legal right, the law presumes the action is retaliatory and the landlord must prove a non-retaliatory reason. An increase that lands just after a repair complaint invites exactly that challenge. Federal, New York State, and New York City human rights law independently bar an increase aimed at a tenant because of a protected characteristic.

Because New York fixes no required method to serve a market-rate rent-increase notice, the practical standard is provable written delivery within the 226-c window. Personal delivery, delivery to a suitable person at the residence with a mailed copy, certified mail with a return receipt, or first-class mail all work; email or a tenant portal is fine only when the lease authorizes electronic notice. Whatever the method, the notice should state the current rent, the new rent, the percentage, and the effective date, and the landlord should keep a signed, dated copy with proof of delivery. Our how to raise rent guide walks through the timing, and screening applicants with verified reports keeps tenancies stable so the increases you serve actually stick.

Put together, a clean NYC market-rate increase is exact: confirm the unit is unregulated, match the notice period to the tenant’s occupancy (30, 60, or 90 days), check Good Cause Eviction on covered units, keep the timing outside the one-year retaliation window, deliver the notice in writing with proof, and never serve it on a stabilized tenant who should be getting an RGB renewal instead.

• Written notice for a 5%-or-more increase on an unregulated unit under Real Property Law Section 226-c — the same rule applies when the landlord declines to renew.
• Tiered notice period: 30 days if the tenant has occupied the unit under one year, 60 days for one to two years, and 90 days for two years or more.
• Rent-stabilized units are excluded — their increases are capped by the NYC Rent Guidelines Board’s annual order and offered on a DHCR renewal lease, not this notice.
• Good Cause Eviction can make an above-standard increase (local rent standard = CPI plus 5%, capped at 10%) challengeable as unreasonable on a covered unregulated unit, and the notice must disclose whether Good Cause applies.
• No retaliatory increase — Real Property Law Section 223-b presumes retaliation if the landlord substantially alters the tenancy within one year of a protected complaint.
• No discriminatory increase based on a protected class (federal, New York State, and NYC human rights law).

• New York sets no required method to serve a market-rate rent-increase notice — the goal is provable written delivery within the 226-c window.
• Personal delivery to the tenant, or delivery to a suitable person at the residence with a mailed copy.
• Certified mail with return receipt, or U.S. first-class mail, gives a dated paper trail of when the period began.
• Email or a tenant portal works only if the lease authorizes electronic notice; keep the send record either way.

• Using this notice on a rent-stabilized apartment — those increases are set by the Rent Guidelines Board and offered on a DHCR renewal lease.
• Giving 30 days when the tenant has lived there over a year — the 226-c tiers require 60 or 90 days.
• Forgetting that a 5%-or-more increase is what triggers the written-notice requirement in the first place.
• Ignoring Good Cause Eviction on a covered unit, or timing the increase within the one-year Section 223-b retaliation window.
• Relying on a verbal notice with no written record or proof of delivery.

• Confirm the unit is unregulated before serving — check the registration status with DHCR if you are unsure.
• Match the notice period to occupancy: 30, 60, or 90 days, counted from when the tenant receives the notice.
• State the current rent, the new rent, the percentage, and the effective date plainly, and note whether Good Cause applies.
• Deliver by a method you can prove, and avoid timing an increase right after a tenant complaint.

Published by Tenant Screening Background Check

Established 2004 · 20+ Years · All U.S. States & Territories · Statute-Based · Attorney-Reviewed

A Private Eye Reports™ service trusted by landlords, property managers, and attorneys.