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Start with three questions, in order. First, is there a landlord-tenant relationship? If yes you are in RPAPL § 711 territory; if not, the grounds and the ten-day notice to quit come from RPAPL § 713. Second, is the problem money or something else? Nonpayment runs on the fourteen-day rent demand under § 711(2); everything else runs on termination or cure. Third, is the unit rent-regulated? That answer overrides the first two. Choosing the form before answering these is the single most common way a New York filing is lost.

RPL § 226-c sets a sliding scale that applies statewide, not only in New York City. Where the landlord intends not to renew, or to renew with a rent increase equal to or greater than five percent above the current rent, written notice is required: at least thirty days if the tenant has occupied for less than a year and has no lease term of at least a year; at least sixty days for more than one but less than two years; at least ninety days for more than two years or a lease term of at least two years.

The tenancy does not simply end on your date. Section 226-c(1)(a) provides that if the landlord fails to give timely notice, the occupant’s lawful tenancy continues under the existing terms from the date the landlord gave actual written notice until the notice period has expired, notwithstanding any lease provision to the contrary. Note also how the tier is measured: § 226-c(2)(a) uses the cumulative amount of time the tenant has occupied the residence, or the length of the tenancy in each lease, whichever is longer. Count occupancy, not just the current lease.

It depends which section you are proceeding under, and the two are easy to confuse. RPAPL § 711(1), the ordinary holdover ground where a landlord-tenant relationship exists, sets no notice-to-quit period of its own; what has to happen first is that the term ends, whether by expiry or by a timely RPL § 226-c notice. The ten-day notice to quit belongs to RPAPL § 713, which covers grounds where no landlord-tenant relationship exists, such as squatters, licensees, foreclosure and tax-sale purchasers, and the tenant of a life tenant.

RPL § 231-c requires a covered landlord to append to or incorporate into an initial lease, a renewal lease, a notice under RPL § 226-c(1)(a), a fourteen-day rent demand under RPAPL § 711(2), or a petition under RPAPL § 741 a prescribed notice telling the tenant whether the unit is subject to Article 6-A of the Real Property Law, the good cause eviction law. Where the unit is exempt, the notice must say why. Where the landlord is not renewing a covered lease, it must state the lawful basis. This is a form attachment, not optional boilerplate.

Any general termination, non-renewal or cure notice. A New York City rent-stabilized tenancy is governed by the Rent Stabilization Code, 9 NYCRR Part 2524: a proceeding may be brought without DHCR approval only on the grounds enumerated in § 2524.3 or § 2524.4, and only after the termination notice required by § 2524.2, which carries its own service windows. Stabilized units outside New York City fall instead under the Emergency Tenant Protection Regulations, 9 NYCRR Part 2504, which run on similar but separate rules. Establish the regime first, then use our dedicated rent-stabilized pages.

Advance notice, in writing. General Business Law § 380-b(b) provides that no person shall request a consumer report in connection with an application for the rental or lease of a residence unless the applicant is first informed, in writing or in the same manner in which the application is made, that a consumer report may be requested and that on request the applicant will be told whether one was requested and the name and address of the reporting agency. Section 380-b(a)(3)(vi) separately confirms that the rental or lease of a residence is a permissible purpose in New York.

General Obligations Law § 7-108(1-a)(a) caps a deposit or advance at one month’s rent for covered non-rent-stabilized dwelling units, with narrow carve-outs for registered seasonal-use units and owner-occupied cooperative apartments. Section 7-108(1-a)(e) then requires the landlord, within fourteen days after the tenant has vacated, to provide an itemised statement of the basis for any amount retained and to return the remainder; a landlord who misses that deadline forfeits any right to retain any portion of the deposit. Under § 7-108(3), a lease clause waiving these rights is absolutely void.