New York Landlord-Tenant Laws

Security Deposits

Capped at one month's rent, returnable within 14 days with an itemized statement — miss the deadline and the right to keep any of it is forfeited.

Since HSTPA, no deposit or advance can exceed one month's rent — that includes pet deposits and 'last month's rent' collected up front; one month is the total ceiling. Deposits must be held in a New York bank account, and for buildings of six or more units the account must bear interest, with the tenant entitled to the interest less a 1% administrative fee.

Within 14 days of the tenant vacating you must return the deposit with an itemized statement for any amount kept. The statute is unforgiving: fail to meet the 14 days and you forfeit any right to retain any portion — and willful violations expose you to up to twice the deposit in damages. Deductions are limited to unpaid rent, damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, moving/storage of the tenant's belongings, and unpaid utilities owed under the lease.

Tenants may request a walk-through inspection before move-in and are entitled, on request, to an inspection one to two weeks before move-out, with written notice of proposed deductions and a chance to cure. Build both into your standard process — they cut deposit disputes dramatically.

Rent & Late Fees

Late fees are capped at the lesser of $50 or 5% and can't start until rent is five days late; unregulated units have no rent cap, but big increases trigger long notices.

For market-rate units New York doesn't cap the rent itself, but §238-a caps late fees at the lesser of $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, and no fee may be assessed until payment is at least five days late. The same section caps application fees at $20, waivable if the applicant supplies a recent report. Fee clauses that exceed these numbers are void, not merely reduced.

Rent increases above 5% (or non-renewal) require the graduated advance notice of RPL §226-c: 30 days for tenancies under one year, 60 days for one to two years, 90 days for two years or more. Rent-stabilized units are a separate world — annual increases are set by the local Rent Guidelines Board and renewal leases are mandatory.

Lease Requirements & Disclosures

Plain-language leases, receipt requirements for rent payments, and building-specific disclosures — plus the stabilization rider where it applies.

Residential leases must be written in plain language, and leases over one year must be in writing to be enforceable. Landlords must provide written receipts for rent paid by cash or money order, and must notify a tenant by certified mail if rent hasn't been received within five days of the due date — that §235-e notice is a prerequisite many upstate landlords miss before starting nonpayment cases.

• Lead-based paint disclosure (federal, pre-1978); NYC adds Local Law 1 obligations for buildings with young children.
• Bed bug history disclosure (one year) for NYC leases.
• Sprinkler system notice — every residential lease must state whether an operative sprinkler system exists.
• Rent-stabilized units: the DHCR rider stating the legal rent and tenant rights must accompany every vacancy and renewal lease.
• Reasonable-accommodation notice for tenants with disabilities (NYC).

Landlord Entry & Notice

No statewide entry statute for most units — reasonable notice under the lease and the covenant of quiet enjoyment control; NYC practice expects a week's notice for non-urgent repairs.

New York has no general entry-notice statute for market-rate units — the lease's entry clause and the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment govern. Regulated units and NYC housing-maintenance rules add expectations (a week's notice for non-emergency repairs is the standard in stabilized housing, 24 hours for inspections). Whatever the property type, unannounced non-emergency entry invites harassment claims, which under NYC's tenant-harassment laws carry real penalties — put a notice standard in the lease and keep to it.

Evictions

A 14-day written rent demand starts nonpayment cases; holdover cases follow the graduated notices — and every eviction goes through court, with mandatory stays available.

Nonpayment proceedings require a written 14-day rent demand (personal service rules apply) before filing in the local housing or justice court. Only the missed rent itself can be pursued in a nonpayment case — fees and other charges can't be dressed up as rent, per HSTPA. Holdover cases (ending the tenancy) require the §226-c graduated notice first: 30, 60, or 90 days depending on tenancy length.

Courts may grant tenants stays of up to a year in hardship cases, adjournments are routine, and warrants of eviction are executed only by a marshal or sheriff after a court judgment. New York's timelines are the longest in the country — realistic planning (and early payment-plan conversations) beats procedural aggression. Self-help eviction is a class A misdemeanor statewide, with treble damages exposure in NYC.

Habitability & Repairs

The §235-b warranty of habitability is non-waivable and powerful — rent abatement is the standard remedy, and NYC layers code enforcement on top.

Every New York residential lease carries the implied warranty of habitability: the premises must be fit for habitation and free of conditions dangerous or detrimental to life, health, or safety. Courts enforce it primarily through rent abatements — a percentage of rent excused for the period a serious condition persisted — asserted defensively in nonpayment cases or affirmatively. Heat and hot water requirements are enforced on a schedule in NYC (heat season October–May).

In NYC, tenants can also bring HP proceedings to force repairs, and the housing-maintenance code assigns violation classes with deadlines and civil penalties. Retaliation against complaining tenants is prohibited statewide, with a presumption for actions within one year of a protected complaint.

Termination & Renewal

The graduated 30/60/90 system governs both non-renewals and large increases; stabilized tenants renew as of right.

RPL §226-c is the backbone: to decline renewal, end a month-to-month tenancy, or raise rent more than 5%, the landlord must give 30, 60, or 90 days' written notice based on how long the tenant has occupied (counting lease length if longer). The notice periods apply statewide and to every unit type. Fixed-term leases still expire on their own dates, but a holdover case can't start until the applicable notice has run.

Fair Housing

The State Human Rights Law adds source of income, age, and more to the federal list; NYC's Human Rights Law goes further still.

New York's Human Rights Law protects race, color, national origin, creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, familial status, military status, disability, and lawful source of income — so refusing Section 8, HASA, or other subsidy holders is unlawful statewide. New York City's Human Rights Law adds more categories (including arrest/conviction history rules under the Fair Chance for Housing Act) and is construed liberally by design.

Income-standard policies (like 40× rent requirements) must be applied to the tenant's share when a voucher is involved, and testing by state and city agencies is active. Uniform criteria, documentation, and accommodation-first handling of disability requests are the baseline.