New York: Eviction Notice Requirements
The short answer
For unpaid rent, a New York landlord must serve a written 14-day rent demand — 'at least fourteen days' notice' to pay or give up the apartment (counted as calendar days), and paying stops the case. New York has no across-the-board cure-or-quit notice statute; the lease sets any pre-suit cure notice, but a court must give you a 30-day stay to fix a lease breach before it issues an eviction warrant. To end a month-to-month tenancy for no reason, the landlord must give 30 days' notice if you've lived there under a year, 60 days for one to two years, and 90 days for two years or more. And in New York City — plus any town or city that opts in — the Good Cause Eviction Law now bars ending a covered tenancy at all except for a listed 'good cause,' though it is scheduled to be repealed in 2034.
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This is the general rule in New York. Ezel applies current New York law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Summary proceedings: RPAPL Art. 7 (§§ 711, 735, 751, 753). No-cause/non-renewal notice: RPL § 226-c. Just cause: RPL Art. 6-A, the 'Good Cause Eviction Law' (§§ 210–216). Retaliation: RPL § 223-b |
|---|---|
| Notice for unpaid rent | 14 days' written rent demand — 'at least fourteen days' notice' to pay the rent or give up possession (RPAPL § 711(2)); calendar days, not business days; paying stops the case. The notice must append the § 231-c good-cause disclosure |
| Notice for a lease violation | No general pre-suit cure-or-quit statute; the lease sets the predicate notice. For a Good-Cause-covered tenant, a substantial-obligation breach needs a 10-day written notice to cure first (RPL § 216(1)(b)); statewide, the court must grant a 30-day stay to cure a lease breach before issuing the warrant (RPAPL § 753(4)) |
| Unconditional quit (no cure allowed) | No fixed-day unconditional-quit notice; serious misconduct (nuisance, or use of the premises for an illegal business — RPAPL § 711(5)) is pursued as a holdover after a lease-based termination notice. The § 753(4) cure stay does not apply where the landlord proves the tenant 'objectionable' (RPAPL § 753(3)) |
| Ending a month-to-month tenancy | Ending a month-to-month tenancy or not renewing a lease: 30 days if the tenant has occupied under 1 year; 60 days for 1–2 years; 90 days for 2+ years (RPL § 226-c(2)). In a Good-Cause-covered unit a no-reason termination/non-renewal is barred (RPL § 215) |
| Just cause to evict required? | Yes in New York City (automatic) and in any village, town, or city that opts in by local law (RPL §§ 212–213); a covered tenancy may end only for an enumerated good cause (RPL §§ 215–216). Many exemptions (small landlords and owner-occupied buildings ≤10 units, new construction, high-rent units). Enacted 2024; scheduled to be repealed June 15, 2034 |
| How the notice must be served | Personal delivery; or leave with a person of suitable age and discretion at the premises and mail by both registered/certified and first-class mail within one day (substituted); or affix to a conspicuous part of / place under the door of the premises plus mail (conspicuous-place) — RPAPL § 735(1) |
| Tenant's right to cure/reinstate | Nonpayment: deposit all rent due plus costs before the warrant issues to stay eviction (RPAPL § 751(1)), and a nonpayment case may be permanently stayed on payment (RPL § 216(3)). Lease breach: 30-day court cure stay (RPAPL § 753(4)). Retaliatory eviction is barred, with a one-year rebuttable presumption (RPL § 223-b) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
New York's eviction machinery lives in the Real Property Actions and Proceedings
Law (RPAPL) Article 7 — the "summary proceeding." Section 711 lists the grounds
and the rent-demand rule, § 735 sets how papers are served, § 751 lets a tenant
pay to stop the warrant, and § 753 governs court stays. The notice periods for
ending or not renewing a residential tenancy are in Real Property Law (RPL)
§ 226-c. The statewide "just cause" overlay is a separate law, RPL Article 6-A,
the Good Cause Eviction Law (§§ 210–216). Retaliatory evictions are barred by RPL
§ 223-b.
Notice for unpaid rent
Before filing a nonpayment case, the landlord must make "a written demand of the
rent... with at least fourteen days' notice requiring, in the alternative, the
payment of the rent, or the possession of the premises" (RPAPL § 711(2)). That is
a 14-day count in calendar days — the statute sets no weekend or holiday
exclusion. Since 2024 the 14-day notice must also "append or contain" a separate
disclosure (the RPL § 231-c notice) telling you whether your unit is covered by
the Good Cause Eviction Law. Paying the rent demanded stops the proceeding.
Notice for a lease violation
New York has no single statute setting a fixed cure-or-quit notice period for
ordinary lease violations the way many states do. What pre-suit notice you get for
a non-rent breach comes from your lease's own terms (a "notice to cure" clause). Two
statutory backstops matter, though. If your unit is covered by the Good Cause
Eviction Law, the landlord can't refuse to renew over a lease breach unless you've
"failed to cure such violation after written notice that the violation cease within
ten days of receipt of such written notice" (RPL § 216(1)(b)) — a 10-day cure
floor. And statewide, once a landlord sues over a lease breach, "the court shall
grant a thirty day stay of issuance of the warrant, during which time the
respondent may correct such breach" (RPAPL § 753(4)). That 30-day court cure right
can't be waived in a lease.
Unconditional quit (no cure allowed)
New York has no separate "unconditional quit" notice with a set number of days.
Serious misconduct is instead handled as a holdover proceeding after the
landlord terminates the tenancy (the termination notice comes from the lease or
common law, not a fixed statutory day-count). Using the premises "for any illegal
trade or manufacture, or other illegal business" is its own ground for a summary
proceeding (RPAPL § 711(5)). And the 30-day cure stay above does not rescue a
tenant the landlord proves is "objectionable": § 753's protections "shall not
apply to a proceeding to recover possession upon the ground that an occupant is
holding over and is objectionable" (RPAPL § 753(3)).
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
To end a periodic tenancy for no fault — or to decline to renew a lease — the
landlord's notice depends on length of occupancy. Under RPL § 226-c(2), a tenant
who has occupied "less than one year" gets "at least thirty days' notice"; "more
than one year but less than two years" gets "at least sixty days' notice"; and
"more than two years" gets "at least ninety days' notice." (These periods, added
by the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, now govern month-to-month
terminations both inside New York City (RPL § 232-a) and outside it (RPL § 232-b).)
But in a Good-Cause-covered unit, a bare no-reason termination isn't available at
all — see the next dimension.
Just cause to evict required?
Yes — in New York City automatically, and elsewhere wherever a locality opts in.
The Good Cause Eviction Law took effect in 2024. It "shall apply to the city of
New York" upon its effective date (RPL § 212), and it applies "in any village,
town, or a city, other than the city of New York, that... adopts the provisions of
this article by local law" (RPL § 213(1)). Where it applies, "No landlord shall...
remove any tenant... except for good cause as defined in section two hundred
sixteen" (RPL § 215). "Good cause" is a defined list — nonpayment of a reasonable
rent, a cured-or-uncured substantial lease breach, nuisance, illegal use, the
owner (or close family) moving in, demolition, or permanent withdrawal from the
market, among others (RPL § 216). The law carves out many units: buildings owned
by a "small landlord" (10 units or fewer) or owner-occupied buildings of 10 or
fewer units, new construction (a certificate of occupancy issued on or after
Jan. 1, 2009, for its first 30 years), and units renting above 245% of the local
fair market rent (RPL § 214). Note the sunset: the official statute is marked
"Repealed June 15, 2034" (RPL § 215), so it is not permanent unless renewed.
How the notice must be served
A summary-proceeding notice and petition — and the 14-day rent demand, which § 711
requires be served "as prescribed in section seven hundred thirty-five" — may be
served three ways under RPAPL § 735(1): by "personally delivering them to the
respondent"; by leaving a copy "with a person of suitable age and discretion who
resides or is employed at the property" and then mailing a copy (substituted
service); or, if that fails, "by affixing a copy... upon a conspicuous part of the
property... or placing a copy under the entrance door" and mailing (the
conspicuous-place or "nail and mail" method). For the two mailing methods, the
statute requires a mailing "both by registered or certified mail and by regular
first class mail" within one day.
Tenant's right to cure/reinstate
New York gives tenants strong statutory ways to stop an eviction. In a nonpayment
case, "at any time before a warrant is issued" the tenant may stay it by
"depositing the amount of the rent due... and the costs of the special proceeding"
with the court (RPAPL § 751(1)); the Good Cause Eviction Law separately preserves a
tenant's right "to permanently stay the issuance or execution of a warrant... the
underlying basis of which is the nonpayment of rent" if the tenant complies with
§ 751 (RPL § 216(3)). For a lease breach, the 30-day court cure stay under RPAPL
§ 753(4) applies. And a landlord may not "serve a notice to quit... or commence any
action... in retaliation for" a good-faith habitability complaint, enforcing your
rights, or joining a tenants' organization; a rebuttable presumption of retaliation
arises if the landlord acts within one year of such protected activity (RPL
§ 223-b).
What trips people up
The rent notice is 14 days, and it's calendar days. New York's 14-day rent
demand (a change from the old 3-day demand) runs on calendar days — there's no
weekend or holiday exclusion like California's. Count fourteen actual days from
service.
"Good Cause" is not automatic statewide. It covers New York City by operation
of law, but outside the city it applies only where the village, town, or city has
passed a local law adopting it. Several localities (Albany, Kingston, and others)
have opted in; most of the state has not. And even in a covered place, the small
landlord, owner-occupied, new construction, and high-rent exemptions take many
units back out. Don't assume you're covered without checking your locality and
your unit type.
A lease "notice to cure" is not the same as the court's 30-day stay. The
pre-suit notice to cure a lease violation comes from your lease, and its length
is whatever the lease says. The 30-day window in RPAPL § 753(4) is a separate,
non-waivable stay the court grants after the case is filed. They stack; don't
count on one to substitute for the other.
Common questions
How many days does a New York rent notice give me? Fourteen. The landlord must
serve a written 14-day rent demand before filing a nonpayment case, and it runs on
calendar days. Paying the full amount demanded stops the case.
My landlord just wants me out and I've lived here three years — how much notice?
For a no-fault end to a month-to-month tenancy or a non-renewal, three years of
occupancy means at least 90 days' written notice (RPL § 226-c). And if your unit
is covered by the Good Cause Eviction Law, the landlord generally can't refuse to
renew without a listed good cause at all.
Can I fix a lease violation to avoid eviction? Usually yes. If your unit is
Good-Cause-covered you're entitled to at least 10 days to cure a substantial
breach after written notice, and in any event the court must give you a 30-day
stay to correct a lease breach before issuing the warrant (RPAPL § 753(4)).
Can my landlord change the locks or shut off the utilities instead of going to
court? No. In New York a tenant can be removed only by a court warrant executed
by an enforcement officer; a lockout, utility shutoff, or removing your belongings
to force you out is illegal regardless of any notice.
Statutes and sources
- N.Y. Real Prop. Acts. Law § 711(2) — 14-day written rent demand before a nonpayment proceeding; must append the § 231-c good-cause disclosure.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPA/711 (accessed 2026-07-10) - N.Y. Real Prop. Acts. Law § 711(5) — illegal-business use as a ground for a summary proceeding.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPA/711 (accessed 2026-07-10) - N.Y. Real Prop. Acts. Law § 735(1) — service methods (personal, substituted, conspicuous-place) with dual mailing.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPA/735 (accessed 2026-07-10) - N.Y. Real Prop. Acts. Law § 751(1) — pay rent plus costs before the warrant issues to stay eviction.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPA/751 (accessed 2026-07-10) - N.Y. Real Prop. Acts. Law § 753(4) — court's 30-day stay to cure a lease breach.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPA/753 (accessed 2026-07-10) - N.Y. Real Prop. Acts. Law § 753(3) — cure stay unavailable against an "objectionable" holdover tenant.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPA/753 (accessed 2026-07-10) - N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c(2) — 30/60/90-day notice to end or not renew a tenancy, by length of occupancy.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/226-C (accessed 2026-07-10) - N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 212 — Good Cause Eviction Law applies to New York City.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/212 (accessed 2026-07-10) - N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 213(1) — localities outside NYC may opt in by local law.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/213 (accessed 2026-07-10) - N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 215 — good cause required for removal; official repeal marker June 15, 2034.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/215 (accessed 2026-07-10) - N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 216(1)(b) — 10-day cure of a substantial lease obligation for covered tenants.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/216 (accessed 2026-07-10) - N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 216(3) — preserves the § 751 permanent stay for nonpayment.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/216 (accessed 2026-07-10) - N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 223-b(1) — bar on retaliatory notices/eviction; one-year rebuttable presumption.
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/223-B (accessed 2026-07-10)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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