New York Landlord-Tenant Laws: The Complete Overview
Deposits, rent increases, entry, late fees, habitability, eviction, and more – every core New York rental rule in one place, each linked to its full New York guide.
New York has some of the most tenant-protective landlord-tenant laws in the country, most of them reshaped by the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019. The rules are spread across several statutes – the General Obligations Law, the Real Property Law, the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, and the Human Rights Law – so the same tenancy touches four or five different codes at once.
This overview pulls the whole framework together and points to the detailed New York guide behind each topic. If you are screening a new applicant first, our step-by-step guide to how to screen tenants pairs well with the statute summaries below.
Video: a plain-language walkthrough of the New York rental rules that matter most to landlords and tenants.
Key Takeaways: New York Landlord-Tenant Laws
- Deposits are capped at one month’s rent under General Obligations Law 7-103 and must be returned within fourteen days with an itemized statement.
- Rent-increase and termination notice scales with tenancy length – thirty, sixty, or ninety days under Real Property Law 226-c.
- Late fees are capped at fifty dollars or five percent of rent, whichever is less, after a five-day grace period (Real Property Law 238-a).
- Eviction is a court process under RPAPL 711 – self-help lockouts are illegal, and good-cause rules limit no-fault removals.
- The warranty of habitability cannot be waived under Real Property Law 235-b, with fixed heat and hot-water minimums.
New York Landlord-Tenant Law at a Glance
The table below collects the headline figures from each of New York’s individual law guides in one place. Every number is drawn from the detailed New York page for that topic – follow the section links that follow for the full rules, conditions, and worked examples behind each figure.
| Topic | New York rule | Primary statute |
|---|---|---|
| Security deposit cap | One month’s rent (since 2019) | Gen. Oblig. Law 7-103 |
| Deposit return | Fourteen days, itemized | Gen. Oblig. Law 7-108 |
| Rent-increase notice | Thirty to ninety days by tenancy length | Real Prop. Law 226-c |
| Landlord entry | Reasonable notice (24 hours best practice) | Real Prop. Law 235-b and common law |
| Late-fee cap | Fifty dollars or five percent, whichever is less | Real Prop. Law 238-a |
| Habitability | Non-waivable warranty; heat and hot-water minimums | Real Prop. Law 235-b |
| Eviction (nonpayment) | Fourteen-day pay-or-quit demand | RPAPL 711 |
| Lease-termination notice | Thirty, sixty, or ninety days by tenancy length | Real Prop. Law 226-c |
| Application-fee cap | Actual cost, up to twenty dollars | Real Prop. Law 238-a |
New York Security Deposit Laws
Since the 2019 reforms, a New York security deposit is capped at one month’s rent under General Obligations Law 7-103, and that ceiling covers any pet deposit as well. Once the tenant surrenders the unit and supplies a written forwarding address, the landlord must return the deposit within fourteen days, together with an itemized statement of any deductions. Missing the itemization deadline forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit.
Deductions are limited to unpaid rent and damage beyond normal wear and tear – never routine repainting or ordinary carpet wear. Buildings with six or more units must also hold deposits in an interest-bearing account. For the full deduction rules and move-out timeline, see our complete guide to New York security deposit laws.
Security deposits
The one-month cap, itemization, interest for larger buildings, and the penalty for wrongful withholding all live in the full New York security deposit guide.
New York Rent Increase Laws
New York has no statewide rent cap, but it does regulate the timing of increases under Real Property Law 226-c. The required advance notice scales with how long the tenant has lived there: thirty days for a tenancy under one year, sixty days for one to two years, and ninety days for two years or more. The same notice ladder applies whether the increase is on a month-to-month tenancy or a renewal.
Layered on top of the state rule is extensive local rent regulation – New York City rent stabilization, the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, and local ordinances – where a Rent Guidelines Board sets annual allowable increases and stabilized units can generally be raised only once every twelve months. Mid-lease increases are generally prohibited unless the lease expressly allows them. See the full breakdown in our guide to New York rent increase laws.
New York Landlord Entry Laws
New York does not set a fixed statutory entry-notice number for private tenancies. Instead, entry is governed by the tenant’s common-law right to quiet enjoyment and the warranty of habitability under Real Property Law 235-b: a landlord may enter only at reasonable times with reasonable notice. The widely accepted best practice is twenty-four hours’ written notice for non-emergency entry, during ordinary daytime hours.
Genuine emergencies – fire, flood, a gas leak, or another imminent threat – allow immediate entry without notice. Repeated entries without notice can expose a landlord to damages and quiet-enjoyment remedies. For reasonable-hour guidance and sample entry-notice language, read our full guide to New York landlord entry laws.
New York Late Fee Laws
New York is one of the few states with a hard statutory late-fee cap. Under Real Property Law 238-a, a late fee may not exceed fifty dollars or five percent of the monthly rent, whichever is less, and it cannot be charged until rent is at least five days late. The fee must also be written into the lease to be enforceable – a landlord cannot impose one that the lease never mentions.
A fee at or below the five-percent ceiling is presumptively reasonable and rarely challenged; charges dressed up as daily fees are permitted only if they are in the lease and the total stays within the statutory limit. The full fee-reasonableness table and enforcement notes are in our guide to New York late fee laws.
New York Habitability Laws
Every residential tenancy in New York carries an implied warranty of habitability under Real Property Law 235-b, and it cannot be waived – any lease clause purporting to waive it is void as against public policy. The landlord must keep the unit fit to live in for the entire tenancy, covering heat, hot water, plumbing, and freedom from mold, pests, and bedbug infestations.
The standards are specific. During heat season, October 1 through May 31, habitable rooms must reach at least sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit by day when it is below fifty-five degrees outside, and at least sixty-two degrees overnight. Hot water must be supplied year-round at a minimum of one hundred twenty degrees Fahrenheit at the tap. When a landlord fails to repair after written notice, tenants have remedies including repair-and-deduct and rent abatement. See our complete guide to New York habitability laws.
New York Eviction Notice Laws
Eviction in New York is a court process under RPAPL 711 – there is no legal self-help lockout, and attempting one carries statutory penalties. A nonpayment case begins with a fourteen-day pay-or-quit demand; if the tenant neither pays nor leaves, the landlord files a summary proceeding in Housing Court in New York City or the local court elsewhere.
New York now requires a valid reason to remove many tenants: rent-stabilized units and the statewide good-cause framework both limit no-fault, non-renewal-style removals. A warrant of eviction is executed only by a sheriff or marshal after the case concludes. For the full notice ladder, timelines, and defenses, read our guide to New York eviction notice laws.
New York Lease Termination Laws
Ending a New York tenancy – whether month-to-month or a fixed term that has run its course – requires written notice under Real Property Law 226-c, and the notice period is the same ladder used for rent increases. A tenant who has lived in the unit for under one year gets thirty days’ notice; one to two years gets sixty days; and two years or more gets ninety days.
Proper delivery matters as much as the count: personal delivery, certified mail with return receipt, or posting-and-mailing each create the paper trail a court will want if the termination is disputed. Fixed-term leases that simply expire still require this notice when the landlord chooses not to renew. Our guide to New York lease termination laws walks through each tenancy type and delivery method.
New York Breaking Lease Laws
New York recognizes several protected grounds for a tenant to break a lease early without ordinary penalty. Domestic-violence victims may terminate under Real Property Law 227-c; qualifying seniors and disabled tenants moving to care may do so under 227-a; active-duty servicemembers may terminate under 227-b and the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act; and an uninhabitable unit can justify constructive eviction under the non-waivable warranty of 235-b.
Even where no protected ground applies, New York does not leave the tenant fully on the hook. Under Real Property Law 227-e the landlord must make reasonable efforts to re-rent the unit, so a departing tenant generally owes only the rent for the vacancy gap until a new tenant is found – the duty to mitigate rests on the landlord. See the documentation deadlines in our guide to New York breaking lease laws.
New York Pet and ESA Laws
A private New York landlord may set pet policies and breed restrictions and charge pet rent, but a separate pet deposit is effectively limited because it counts against the one-month deposit cap under General Obligations Law 7-103. Assistance animals sit entirely outside those rules.
Emotional support animals and service animals are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act and the ADA, and under the New York State Human Rights Law. A landlord must grant a reasonable accommodation for a qualified assistance animal, cannot charge a pet fee or deposit for it, and cannot apply no-pet or breed rules to it. Read the accommodation process and documentation limits in our guide to New York pet and ESA laws.
New York Tenant Screening Laws
New York is one of the most regulated screening states. Under Real Property Law 238-a a landlord may charge no more than the actual cost of a background or credit check, capped at twenty dollars, and must provide an itemized receipt or a copy of the results. If an applicant supplies their own background and credit report completed within the prior thirty days, the landlord must waive the fee entirely.
Source of income is a protected class statewide, so a landlord generally cannot reject an applicant simply because rent would be paid with a housing voucher or other lawful assistance. Screening also runs on top of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, which requires consent and proper adverse-action notice when an application is denied. See the full compliance walkthrough in our guide to New York tenant screening laws.
Who Holds Which Right: Landlord vs. Tenant
New York’s framework hands each side a clear set of duties and protections. Landlords keep the right to collect a reasonable deposit, screen applicants, raise rent with notice, and evict for cause through the courts. Tenants keep strong protections around habitability, deposit return, and freedom from retaliation and self-help eviction.
What landlords may do
- ✓Collect a deposit up to one month’s rent and screen applicants for up to twenty dollars.
- ✓Raise rent with thirty-to-ninety-day notice tied to tenancy length.
- ✓Charge a lease-stated late fee up to the statutory ceiling after the grace period.
- ✓Enter with reasonable notice, or immediately in a genuine emergency.
- ✓Evict for cause through Housing Court under RPAPL 711.
What landlords may not do
- ✕Hold a deposit past fourteen days without an itemized statement.
- ✕Waive the warranty of habitability in the lease.
- ✕Charge a late fee above the fifty-dollar or five-percent ceiling.
- ✕Refuse a voucher based on source of income, or charge a pet fee for an assistance animal.
- ✕Lock out a tenant without a court warrant.
Common New York Landlord Mistakes
Most New York landlord losses are avoidable – they come from missing a statutory deadline or ignoring a rule that changed with the 2019 reforms. The recurring errors are over-collecting on the deposit or missing the fourteen-day itemization deadline, raising rent without the notice Real Property Law 226-c requires, writing a late fee above the 238-a ceiling, ignoring a written repair request, attempting a self-help lockout instead of a court eviction, and rejecting a voucher holder.
The reforms are specific – so is the liability. Nearly every New York rental rule maps to a numbered section of the General Obligations Law, Real Property Law, or RPAPL. Landlords who calendar the deadlines and document each step almost never lose; those who improvise pay for it in small claims and Housing Court.
New York Landlord-Tenant Laws: FAQ
What are the main landlord-tenant laws in New York?
New York landlord-tenant law is spread across the General Obligations Law (security deposits, section 7-103), the Real Property Law (habitability 235-b, late fees 238-a, rent-increase and termination notice 226-c, early-termination grounds 227-a through 227-e), the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (eviction, RPAPL 711), and the Human Rights Law plus the federal Fair Housing Act for pets and assistance animals. Most current rules trace to the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act.
How much can a New York landlord charge for a security deposit?
Since the 2019 reforms a New York security deposit is capped at one month’s rent under General Obligations Law 7-103. The deposit must be returned within fourteen days after the tenant vacates, with an itemized statement of any deductions.
How much notice does a New York landlord need to raise the rent?
Under Real Property Law 226-c the notice runs with tenancy length: thirty days for a tenancy under one year, sixty days for one to two years, and ninety days for two years or more. New York has no statewide rent cap, but New York City and other localities regulate rent-stabilized units.
How much notice must a New York landlord give before entering?
New York has no fixed statutory entry-notice number for private tenancies; entry must be at reasonable times with reasonable notice, and twenty-four hours’ written notice for non-emergency entry is the widely followed best practice. Genuine emergencies such as fire, flood, or a gas leak allow entry without notice.
What is the maximum late fee in New York?
Under Real Property Law 238-a a late fee is capped at fifty dollars or five percent of the monthly rent, whichever is less, and it may not be charged until rent is five days late. The fee must be written into the lease to be enforceable.
How long does a New York eviction take, and what notice is required?
Formal eviction runs through the courts under RPAPL 711. A nonpayment case starts with a fourteen-day pay-or-quit demand, and statewide good-cause protection plus rent-stabilization rules require a valid reason to remove many tenants. Self-help lockouts are illegal and carry statutory penalties.
Can a New York tenant break a lease early without penalty?
Yes, in defined situations: domestic-violence victims under Real Property Law 227-c, qualifying senior or disabled tenants under 227-a, active-duty military under 227-b and federal law, and an uninhabitable unit under 235-b. Even without a legal ground, 227-e requires the landlord to try to re-rent, so the tenant usually owes only the vacancy gap.
Can a New York landlord charge a pet deposit or refuse an emotional support animal?
A pet deposit counts toward the one-month deposit cap under 7-103, so a separate pet deposit is effectively limited. Assistance animals are different: emotional support and service animals are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act and the New York Human Rights Law, cannot be charged a pet fee, and are not subject to no-pet or breed rules.
How much can a New York landlord charge to screen an applicant?
Under Real Property Law 238-a the application fee is capped at the actual cost of the background or credit check, up to twenty dollars. If the applicant supplies their own recent report the fee must be waived, and source of income is a protected class statewide.
Related New York Landlord-Tenant Law Guides
- New York security deposit laws – the one-month cap, itemization, and the return deadline.
- New York rent increase laws – notice periods and local rent regulation.
- New York landlord entry laws – reasonable notice, hours, and emergencies.
- New York late fee laws – the statutory cap and grace period.
- New York habitability laws – the warranty, heat, and hot-water standards.
- New York eviction notice laws – pay-or-quit, good cause, and court process.
- New York lease termination laws – month-to-month and non-renewal notice.
- New York breaking lease laws – protected grounds and the duty to mitigate.
- New York pet and ESA laws – pet deposits, service animals, and accommodations.
- New York tenant screening laws – the fee cap, portable reports, and fair housing.
Screen New York Applicants the Compliant Way
Most deposit, late-rent, and eviction disputes trace back to tenants a thorough screen would have flagged. Order FCRA-ready credit, criminal, and eviction reports and keep your New York process consistent from application to decision.
Published by Tenant Screening Background Check · Editorial Team
Established 2004. Our editorial team has spent two decades helping landlords and property managers run lawful, FCRA-compliant tenant screening across all 50 states. We translate state landlord-tenant codes and federal screening rules into processes you can actually follow.
Legal Disclaimer
This overview is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. New York statutes and local ordinances – especially New York City rent-stabilization and good-cause rules – change and vary by jurisdiction. Before acting on any deposit, rent, entry, eviction, or fair housing question, consult a licensed attorney in New York. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
