New York Eviction Protections for Tenants

A New York landlord can remove you only by winning a court case, and only after serving the right written notice: a 14-day demand if you are behind on rent, or 30, 60, or 90 days' notice before ending your tenancy, depending on how long you have lived there. In New York City and in municipalities that have opted in (19 on the state's May 2026 list), the 2024 Good Cause Eviction Law also requires landlords of covered market-rate apartments to have a listed reason to evict you or refuse to renew. Rent-stabilized tenants have a separate right to renewal leases, and New York City's free Housing Court lawyer program is open to tenants with household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines and to tenants 60 or older, subject to provider capacity.

What notice must come before a New York eviction case?

The notice depends on why the landlord wants you out:

The 14-day demand, a notice that your lease will not be renewed, and the court petition must each include the state's Good Cause Eviction notice. That form tells you whether the law covers your apartment and, if it does not, which exemption your landlord claims.

In a rent case, two more rules help you. If your rent has not arrived within five days of the due date, Real Property Law section 235-e requires the landlord to send you a written notice by certified mail; if it did not, you can raise that as a defense. And the Attorney General's office notes that a nonpayment case can evict you only for unpaid rent, not for late fees, legal fees, or other added charges.

If a notice ending your tenancy comes late, your current rent and terms continue until the full period has run. How month-to-month evictions work covers the general rules for ending those tenancies.

Does the Good Cause Eviction Law cover your apartment?

Good Cause applies automatically in New York City. Elsewhere it applies only where the local government has adopted it. The state housing agency's notice, current as of May 4, 2026, lists 19 such places, including the cities of Albany, Binghamton, Ithaca, Kingston, New Rochelle, Newburgh, Rochester, and White Plains, the towns of Fishkill and Poughkeepsie, and the villages of New Paltz, Nyack, and Tarrytown. Outside the city, the Good Cause notice that comes with your lease or renewal must say whether the law covers you, including whether your municipality has adopted it.

Even in those places, the law does not cover:

• Small landlords. In New York City, an apartment is exempt if each person who owns it, directly or through companies, owns no more than 10 units in the state. Every opt-in municipality on the list except White Plains, which uses four, sets that limit at one unit.
• Owner-occupied buildings with 10 or fewer units.
• Newer buildings whose certificate of occupancy was issued on or after January 1, 2009, for 30 years after it was issued.
• Regulated housing, meaning rent-stabilized, rent-controlled, and income-restricted apartments, plus condos and co-ops.
• High-rent apartments renting for more than 245% of the fair market rent, a benchmark HUD sets for each county. Under the state's May 2026 figures, that cutoff in New York City is $6,505 a month for a one-bedroom and $7,130 for a two-bedroom. Most opt-in municipalities chose a higher cutoff of 345%.

In a covered apartment, the landlord can evict you or refuse to renew only for a reason the law lists, and must prove it in court:

• unpaid rent, unless the unpaid amount comes from an unreasonable rent increase;
• a substantial lease violation you did not fix within 10 days of written notice;
• a nuisance, serious damage you caused deliberately or through gross negligence, or illegal use of the unit;
• unreasonably refusing access for required repairs or to show the unit to a buyer or lender;
• refusing reasonable lease changes offered in writing 30 to 90 days before your lease ends; or
• the owner or a close relative moving in when no other suitable unit in the building is available, demolition, or taking the unit off the rental market, each of which the landlord must prove by clear and convincing evidence, a higher standard of proof than usual. The move-in reason cannot be used against a tenant who is 65 or older or has a disability.

A rent increase above the local rent standard, inflation plus 5% with a 10% ceiling, is presumed unreasonable, and a judge decides whether costs such as property taxes or significant repairs justify it. Under the May 2026 figures, the standard is 8.38% in New York City and in opt-in municipalities in Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, and Westchester counties, and 8.15% in the other opt-in municipalities. Example: on $2,500 monthly rent in New York City, 8.38% is $209.50, so a renewal rent above $2,709.50 is presumed unreasonable. If a judge finds the increase unreasonable, not paying it cannot be grounds for eviction. New York lease rights covers renewal offers and other lease terms.

What rights do rent-stabilized tenants have?

Rent-stabilized apartments follow their own rules, which give you a right to keep renewing. In New York City, the landlord must offer a renewal lease on the state form (RTP-8) 90 to 150 days before your lease ends; outside the city, the offer must go by certified mail 90 to 120 days before. You choose a one- or two-year term at the increase set by the local Rent Guidelines Board and have 60 days to sign and return it. If you let those 60 days pass, the landlord can refuse to renew and sue after your lease expires.

A landlord can decline to renew only on limited grounds, such as needing the apartment as a primary residence for the owner or an immediate family member, your not using it as your primary residence, or demolishing the building. It must send written notice of non-renewal within the same window as a renewal offer, or you are entitled to a renewal lease. In New York City, the owner-occupancy ground cannot be used against a tenant, or a tenant's spouse, who is a senior citizen, has a disability, or has lived in the apartment 15 years or more, unless the owner offers an equivalent or better apartment nearby at the same or lower rent. If no renewal offer arrives, ask the landlord for one, then file form RA-90 with NYS Homes and Community Renewal.

How does a New York eviction case move through court?

1. Court papers. After the notice period ends, the landlord files a petition and has it served on you with a notice of petition. If the notice tells you to answer within 10 days, answer with the court clerk by then, or the court can enter a default judgment, a ruling against you for not responding. Otherwise it sets a court date 10 to 17 days after service.
2. Your defenses. Raise every defense in your answer, such as a missing or defective notice, no five-day late-rent letter, repair problems, or retaliation for a complaint you made. New York's warranty of habitability explains repair-based rent cuts and the retaliation presumption.
3. Time to prepare. Once you answer, the court must postpone the trial at least 14 days if either side asks, unless both agree to less. Later postponements are up to the judge.
4. Paying stops a rent case. If you pay the full rent owed before the hearing, the landlord must accept it, and the case loses its basis. After a judgment, the court must cancel the eviction warrant if you pay all rent due before the eviction is carried out, unless the landlord proves you withheld rent in bad faith.
5. The warrant. Only a sheriff, marshal, or constable can carry out an eviction warrant, the court order that authorizes your removal. The officer must give you at least 14 days' written notice and can evict only on a business day between sunrise and sunset.

A landlord who locks you out, removes your belongings, or cuts off essential services instead of using a warrant commits unlawful eviction under state law. That is a misdemeanor carrying civil penalties of $1,000 to $10,000 per violation, plus up to $100 a day for as long as six months if the owner does not let you back in when you ask. The law protects anyone who has lived in the unit 30 days or more or has a lease. Self-help eviction explains what to do if it happens.

Can a judge give you more time to move?

Yes. Under RPAPL section 753, a judge can pause an eviction from your home for up to one year if you show that you cannot find similar housing in your neighborhood despite real efforts, or that moving now would cause extreme hardship. The judge must consider serious illness, a child enrolled in a local school, and other circumstances affecting your move, and weighs any hardship the delay would cause the landlord. You must pay the amount the court sets for each month you stay, which can include back rent. The stay is not available in a holdover case, one claiming you stayed after your tenancy ended, if the landlord proves you are an objectionable tenant.

If the case is based on a lease violation, the court must give you 30 days to fix the violation before it issues the warrant.

How do you get a free eviction lawyer in New York City?

New York City law sets up free legal services for tenants in Housing Court eviction cases and in tenancy termination cases brought by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). A tenant whose household income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines is eligible for full representation by a lawyer, and since 2023 so is any tenant 60 or older, regardless of income. Representation depends on a legal services provider having capacity and accepting your case; the court can continue the case without a lawyer representing you. For 2026, 200% of the guidelines is $31,920 a year for one person and $54,640 for a household of three. The city says its free legal representation or advice for tenants facing eviction is available in every ZIP code, regardless of immigration status.

To request a lawyer, say "I would like an attorney" at your first Housing Court appearance, or call Housing Court Answers at 718-557-1379 or 212-962-4795 on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also call 311 and ask for the Tenant Helpline. Outside New York City, contact a local legal aid office as soon as you are served; the Attorney General's office points tenants to lawhelp.org to find free providers. Finding free legal help for eviction lists other options, and how long the eviction process takes walks through the general stages of a case.