New York Tenant Rights in 2026: The Complete Guide
Quick Answer
New York caps security deposits at one month’s rent and requires refunds with an itemized statement within 14 days of move-out (HSTPA 2019). Landlords must serve a 14-day written rent demand before a nonpayment eviction case. In New York City, Good Cause Eviction now protects many market-rate tenants from no-cause evictions and caps rent increases at inflation + 5%, max 10%, and the FARE Act (June 11, 2025) ended tenant-paid broker fees when the broker works for the landlord.
New here? Start with the first-time renters guide or check your state at a glance on the state laws map.
New York layers four regimes on top of each other: state law (HSTPA 2019 and the 2024 Good Cause Eviction statute), NYC-specific rules, rent stabilization for roughly a million apartments, and local opt-in laws upstate. This guide walks through each layer with the current 2026 rules and the statute behind it.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute, contact NYC 311, HPD, or a tenant attorney before acting.
Table of Contents
- Key takeaways
- What changed in 2024–2026
- Security Deposits: One Month Max, 14 Days Back
- Rent Regulation: Stabilization, Control, and Good Cause
- Good Cause Eviction in NYC
- The FARE Act: Who Pays the Broker Fee
- Eviction: The Process and Notice Rules
- Repairs and Habitability
- Landlord Entry
- Application Fees and Screening
- Discrimination and Retaliation
- Renters Insurance in New York
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related guides
Key takeaways
- Security deposits are capped at one month’s rent statewide, with 14 days to return the deposit and an itemized statement after you move out — miss the deadline and the landlord forfeits the right to keep any of it.
- A landlord must serve a 14-day written rent demand before starting a nonpayment eviction case (RPAPL §711(2)).
- NYC’s Good Cause Eviction law (in effect for cases filed since April 20, 2024) covers many market-rate apartments: no eviction or non-renewal without a good cause, and rent increases above the local rent standard (inflation + 5%, max 10%) can be challenged in court.
- The FARE Act (June 11, 2025) bars landlord-side brokers from charging tenants a fee — whoever hires the broker pays.
- New York implies a warranty of habitability in every lease: heat, hot water, repairs, and a safe, sanitary home (RPL §235-b).
What changed in 2024–2026
| Law | Effective | What it changed |
|---|---|---|
| Good Cause Eviction (state law RPL Art. 6-A; NYC opt-in) | April 20, 2024 | Market-rate tenants in covered apartments can’t be evicted or refused renewal without good cause; rent increases above the local rent standard can be challenged |
| FARE Act (NYC local law) | June 11, 2025 | Landlord-hired brokers can’t charge tenants a fee; all tenant-paid fees must be disclosed in the listing |
| HSTPA 2019 (still the baseline) | 2019 | One-month deposit cap, 14-day refund deadline, application-fee cap, strengthened rent stabilization |
If you’re reading an article that doesn’t mention Good Cause or the FARE Act, it’s describing a New York that no longer exists.
Security Deposits: One Month Max, 14 Days Back
New York’s deposit rules come from General Obligations Law §7-108, rewritten by HSTPA in 2019.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Maximum deposit | One month’s rent, for most residential tenancies including unregulated units |
| Refund deadline | 14 days after the tenant vacates, with an itemized statement of any deductions |
| Penalty for missing the deadline | The landlord forfeits any right to retain the deposit — full refund due regardless of damage |
| Where it’s held | Landlord must keep deposits in a New York bank account; tenants must be notified of the institution |
| Interest | Rent-regulated and some other tenancies earn interest; the landlord may keep 1% as an administrative fee |
The 14-day rule is unusually strict and unusually tenant-favorable: blow the deadline and the itemized statement is gone, along with every deduction. If your landlord misses it, send a written demand citing GOL §7-108(1-a) — many refund the full amount rather than litigate a forfeiture. Our security deposits guide covers the full move-out playbook, and how to get your security deposit back has the letter templates.
Rent Regulation: Stabilization, Control, and Good Cause
Rent stabilization (about a million NYC apartments)
Rent stabilization applies to most NYC buildings built before 1974 with 6+ units, plus some opt-in localities elsewhere (Albany, Buffalo, Kingston, and others under HSTPA’s opt-in provisions). Your rights under stabilization:
- Rent increases set annually by the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) — typically low single digits for 1- and 2-year leases
- Guaranteed lease renewal — the landlord must offer you a renewal lease on RGB terms
- Succession rights for family members who lived with you
- Escrow and DHCR complaint processes for under-repairs
Ask for your rent stabilization rider at lease signing, or look up your building on the DHCR rent registration database. If your apartment is stabilized, most of this guide’s market-rate sections don’t apply — you have stronger tools.
Rent control (a shrinking stock)
Rent control applies to buildings built before 1947 where the tenant (or lawful successor) has lived there continuously since before July 1, 1971. It’s the older, stricter system: maximum base rent adjustments, and tenancies that pass to family members living with the tenant.
Good Cause Eviction (the new layer for market-rate housing)
Outside NYC, cities and towns can opt in to the state’s Good Cause framework. Albany, Newburgh, Kingston, Ithaca, Poughkeepsie, and several others have. If your city has opted in, the NYC section below applies to you in substance — the local rent standard, the good-cause requirement, and the renewal right all travel with the opt-in.
Good Cause Eviction in NYC
Good Cause covers many market-rate apartments, but whole categories sit outside it — small landlords, condos and co-ops, newer buildings, and high-rent units.
Good Cause Eviction (RPL Article 6-A, adopted by NYC as Local Law 49 of 2024, in effect for cases filed on or after April 20, 2024) covers unregulated (“market rate”) apartments — the ones stabilization never reached.
What it gives covered tenants
- No eviction or non-renewal without good cause. The landlord must prove a statutory reason: nonpayment (unless caused by an unreasonable rent increase), substantial lease violation, nuisance, illegal use, owner occupancy, demolition, or taking the unit off the rental market. Owner-occupancy, demolition, and withdrawal claims require “clear and compelling evidence” in court.
- Rent increase cap. An increase above the local rent standard is presumed unreasonable: the standard is regional inflation + 5%, capped at 10%. (HPD’s example: 3% inflation → 8% standard; 6% inflation → 10% cap.) An unreasonable increase can’t be the basis of a nonpayment eviction.
- Notice requirement. When a landlord offers a rent increase above 5%, the notice must state whether Good Cause applies to the apartment.
Who is NOT covered
| Exemption | Detail |
|---|---|
| Small landlords | Owners of 10 or fewer units total in New York State (for LLC-owned buildings, every individual owner must hold ≤10 units) |
| Rent-regulated apartments | Stabilized and controlled units already have stronger protections |
| Government-regulated housing | NYCHA, project-based Section 8, HPD Housing Connect units |
| Condos and co-ops | Unit-ownership buildings are out |
| Newer construction | Buildings built on or after January 1, 2009 — covered only 30 years after construction |
| High-rent units | Homes renting above 245% of area Fair Market Rent (HUD FMR, updated annually by HCR) |
The most common question — “does my building count?” — usually turns on the small-landlord test. If a landlord claims the exemption in an eviction case, they must hand the tenant a list of every home they own in New York State. Verify it: many “small” landlords own more than they disclose.
What to do if you get a huge rent increase or a non-renewal notice
- Check coverage: building size, owner’s total units, construction date, your rent vs. FMR.
- If covered and the increase exceeds the local rent standard (inflation + 5%, max 10%), respond in writing that you accept a renewal at the standard and contest the excess.
- On a non-renewal, don’t just move out — Good Cause is a defense in Housing Court, and legal aid (or NYC’s right-to-counsel program for many zip codes) can appear with you.
- Document everything: the notice, your lease, rent payment history, and correspondence.
Our eviction process explained guide covers what happens after a filing, and how to negotiate rent has scripts for the renewal conversation before it gets there.
The FARE Act: Who Pays the Broker Fee
Until June 2025, the standard NYC move-in cost included a broker fee — often 12–15% of a year’s rent — for a broker the landlord hired. The Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act (took effect June 11, 2025, enforced by DCWP) flipped that:
- A landlord’s agent (including the listing agent) cannot charge the tenant a fee. Whoever hires the broker pays. The presumption is landlord-paid.
- You can still hire your own broker and pay them — with a written agreement — but listings can’t condition access to specific units on hiring the landlord’s broker.
- All fees must be disclosed up front in the listing and the rental agreement — application fees, move-in fees, anything the tenant pays.
- Violations are enforceable by DCWP: civil penalties plus restitution of illegal fees. Complaints go through 311 or DCWP’s online form.
Practical effect for apartment hunting in 2026: a “no-fee” listing should now genuinely cost you no broker fee, and any fee demanded by a landlord-side broker is a red flag worth reporting. Our hidden rental fees explained guide covers the rest of the fee landscape, and the rental application checklist has the document prep that makes applications competitive.
Eviction: The Process and Notice Rules
New York abolished self-help eviction completely. To lawfully evict, a landlord must win a court case — and before filing, serve the right notice:
| Case type | Required pre-filing notice |
|---|---|
| Nonpayment | 14-day written rent demand (RPAPL §711(2)) |
| Holdover (lease violation, expiration) | Notice to cure + notice of termination, timing set by lease and statute (often 30 days) |
| Good Cause non-renewal (covered units) | Good cause reason + compliance with the local rent standard |
After the notice period, the landlord files in Housing Court (or Supreme Court outside NYC), you get served and have a right to answer, and only a marshal or sheriff with a warrant can remove you. Illegal lockouts, utility shutoffs, or removing your door are self-help eviction — call 311 and a tenant attorney immediately. The full timeline is in eviction process explained.
If you’re leaving on your own terms, the notice to vacate letter template gives you a New York-format letter, and breaking a lease without penalty covers the state’s limited early-termination rights.
Repairs and Habitability
Every New York residential lease carries the warranty of habitability (RPL §235-b): the apartment must be fit for human habitation, with working heat, hot water, electricity, plumbing, and no conditions dangerous to life, health, or safety. The warranty can’t be waived — a lease clause trying to disclaim it is void.
Tenant remedies, roughly in escalation order:
- Written repair request — start the paper trail. NYC 311 service requests create official records.
- HPD inspection — violations issued against the building become public record and pressure.
- Withholding rent for breach of the warranty — a defense if the landlord sues for nonpayment (risky; do it with counsel).
- Repair-and-deduct via HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program — for serious violations, the city fixes and bills.
- Housing Court HP action — a tenant-initiated case ordering repairs.
Heat season (October 1 – May 31) has specific temperature floors: 68°F indoors from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. when it’s below 55°F outside, and 62°F overnight. No heat in February is an emergency complaint, not a routine request. The complete escalation playbook is in tenant rights when your landlord won’t make repairs.
Landlord Entry
New York has no statewide statutory notice period for landlord entry. The rule is “reasonable notice at a reasonable time” for non-emergency entry, with tenant consent expected — in practice, 24 hours is the working standard and many NYC leases specify it. Emergencies (fire, flood, gas leak) allow immediate entry.
You can refuse entry that lacks reasonable notice, and repeated unannounced entry can support a harassment claim under NYC’s tenant-harassment law (which covers repeated attempts to make you leave, including utility interruptions and excessive-entry campaigns). Our landlord entry notice requirements guide compares all 50 states and covers what to do about a landlord who won’t call first.
Application Fees and Screening
HSTPA capped and disciplined the application process statewide:
- Application fees capped at $20 (covering background and credit checks) — and only actual documented screening costs can be charged.
- Late fees capped at $50 (or 5% of monthly rent, whichever is less), for rent paid more than 5 days late.
- Receipts and adverse-action notice: if rejected based on a consumer report, you’re entitled to a copy and the source.
If your income or credit is the obstacle, see renting with bad credit and proof of income for apartments. Source-of-income discrimination — refusing Section 8 vouchers or other lawful income — is illegal in New York City and much of the state; our Section 8 vouchers explained guide covers the program.
Discrimination and Retaliation
New York City Human Rights Law (one of the broadest in the country) protects: race, color, religion/creed, national origin, alienage/citizenship, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, marital/partnership status, lawful source of income (including vouchers), lawful occupation, immigration status (in housing), family status, pregnancy, height, weight, and more. State law (Executive Law §296) covers a similar core.
Retaliation within one year of a protected act (complaining to HPD, organizing tenants, asserting any right in this guide) is presumed improper — an eviction or rent hike following a complaint shifts the burden to the landlord to prove a legitimate, independent reason. The general framework is in renter’s rights: what your landlord cannot legally do.
Renters Insurance in New York
Renters insurance in New York City typically runs $15–$25/month for $30,000 of coverage. Two local notes: ground-floor and basement units should check flood coverage (standard policies exclude it), and the city’s older building stock makes fire and water-discharge liability the claims you’re most likely to actually use. Our renters insurance cost guide has the full breakdown, and many NYC landlords now require it — see hidden apartment fees for how to read that lease clause.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum security deposit in New York?
How long does a New York landlord have to return a security deposit?
What is Good Cause Eviction and does it apply to me?
Do I have to pay a broker fee in NYC?
How much notice does a landlord give before entering my apartment?
How much can a landlord raise rent in New York?
Can a landlord evict me without going to court?
What are my rights if my landlord won't make repairs?
Is there a limit on application fees in New York?
Related guides
- State laws: New York quick reference
- Tenant rights by state: the overview
- Security deposits: how to get yours back
- Security deposit return timelines by state
- Eviction process explained
- Breaking a lease without penalty
- Landlord entry notice requirements
- Renter’s rights: what your landlord cannot legally do
- Month-to-month lease guide
Last verified August 2026 against General Obligations Law §7-108, RPAPL §711, RPL §235-b and Article 6-A, NYC’s FARE Act materials from DCWP, and HPD’s Good Cause Eviction guidance. Laws change — confirm specifics with NYC HPD, HCR, 311, or a tenant attorney before acting.
