N.Y. Real Property Law § 226-c

Five percent rent notice: N.Y. Real Property Law § 226-c

N.Y. Real Property Law § 226-c requires thirty, sixty, or ninety days' written notice for a rent increase of five percent or more or lease non-renewal.

Official text N.Y. Real Property Law § 226-c — New York

§ 226-c. Notice of rent increase or non-renewal of residential tenancy. 1. * (a) Whenever a landlord intends to offer to renew the tenancy of an occupant in a residential dwelling unit with a rent increase equal to or greater than five percent above the current rent, or the landlord does not intend to renew the tenancy, the landlord shall provide written notice as required in subdivision two of this section. The notice shall append or contain the notice required pursuant to section two hundred thirty-one-c of this article, which shall state the following: (i) if the unit is or is not subject to article six-A of this chapter, the "good cause eviction law", and if the unit is exempt, such notice shall state why the unit is exempt from such law; (ii) if the landlord is not renewing the lease for a unit subject to article six-A of this chapter, the lawful basis for such non-renewal; and (iii) if the landlord is increasing the rent upon an existing lease of a unit subject to article six-A of this chapter above the applicable local rent standard, as defined in subdivision eight of section two hundred eleven of this chapter, the justification for such increase. If the landlord fails to provide timely notice, the occupant's lawful tenancy shall continue under the existing terms of the tenancy from the date on which the landlord gave actual written notice until the notice period has expired, notwithstanding any provision of a lease or other tenancy agreement to the contrary.

* NB Effective August 18, 2024 until June 15, 2034

* (a) Whenever a landlord intends to offer to renew the tenancy of an occupant in a residential dwelling unit with a rent increase equal to or greater than five percent above the current rent, or the landlord does not intend to renew the tenancy, the landlord shall provide written notice as required in subdivision two of this section. If the landlord fails to provide timely notice, the occupant's lawful tenancy shall continue under the existing terms of the tenancy from the date on which the landlord gave actual written notice until the notice period has expired, notwithstanding any provision of a lease or other tenancy agreement to the contrary.

* NB Effective June 15, 2034

  • (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subdivision, notice shall not be required under this section to be provided by a cooperative housing corporation, other than a cooperative housing corporation subject to the provisions of article two, article four, article five or article eleven of the private housing finance law, to a tenant who is a dwelling unit owner or shareholder of such corporation. Nothing in this paragraph shall relieve such cooperative housing corporation of any otherwise applicable obligation to provide notice to such tenant pursuant to any other law or any agreement between the parties.
  • 2. (a) For the purposes of this section, the required notice shall be based on the cumulative amount of time the tenant has occupied the residence or the length of the tenancy in each lease, whichever is longer.
  • (b) If the tenant has occupied the unit for less than one year and does not have a lease term of at least one year, the landlord shall provide at least thirty days' notice.
  • (c) If the tenant has occupied the unit for more than one year but less than two years, or has a lease term of at least one year but less than two years, the landlord shall provide at least sixty days' notice.
  • (d) If the tenant has occupied the unit for more than two years or has a lease term of at least two years, the landlord shall provide at least ninety days' notice.

Text as published in the 2026 snapshot of the code.

Source: Vaquill Open US Law, compiled from official state publishers (huggingface.co), reproduced under license CC BY 4.0.

Read this provision at the official source →

What it actually says

The trigger is a threshold and a decision. A landlord who intends to renew with a rent increase equal to or greater than five per cent above the current rent, or who does not intend to renew at all, must give written notice. Below five per cent, and where the tenancy simply continues, the section is not engaged.

The notice period is set by occupancy, not by the lease alone. Subdivision 2 says the period is based on the cumulative time the tenant has occupied the residence or the length of the tenancy in each lease, whichever is longer: under one year of occupancy and no lease term of at least a year, thirty days; more than one year but less than two, or a lease term between one and two years, sixty days; more than two years of occupancy or a lease term of at least two years, ninety days.

The sanction is written into subdivision 1 and is the reason the section has teeth: if the landlord fails to give timely notice, the tenant's lawful tenancy continues on the existing terms from the date the landlord gave actual written notice until the notice period has expired - notwithstanding anything in the lease to the contrary. A late notice does not become effective sooner because the lease says the term ends; it starts the clock when it is actually given. The published text shows the section in two versions. Until 15 June 2034, the notice must append or contain the good cause eviction notice required by § 231-c, stating whether the unit is covered by the good cause eviction article and why it is exempt if it is not, the lawful basis for a non-renewal of a covered unit, and the justification for an increase above the local rent standard. From that date, that requirement falls away. Co-ops need not give the notice to shareholder-tenants, though other notice obligations are unaffected.

When it applies

  • A landlord announces a large rent increase a few weeks before the lease ends.
  • A tenant of six years is told the lease will not be renewed with one month's warning.
  • A month-to-month tenant is told the rent goes up next month.
  • A tenant wants to know how much notice is owed after living in the unit through several one-year leases.
  • A notice arrives without the good cause eviction statement the section requires.

What this section does not say

  • It does not cap the rent. The section governs notice of an increase, not its size.
  • It is not triggered by increases below five per cent.
  • It is not an eviction procedure. Ending a tenancy still runs through the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, and where the good cause article applies, through §§ 215 and 216.
  • It does not give the tenant a right to renew. It buys time on the existing terms when notice was late.
  • It does not apply to a cooperative corporation's own shareholder-tenants under paragraph (b) of subdivision 1.

Worked examples

Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.

Illustrative example

A tenant of six years gets an email two weeks before the term ends saying the rent goes up by nearly a third or they will have to leave.

How the wording applies

An increase of five per cent or more triggers the notice requirement, and the period is set by occupancy: more than two years in the unit means ninety days. The sanction is the operative part - where the landlord fails to give timely notice, the lawful tenancy continues on the existing terms from the date actual written notice was given until the notice period has expired, notwithstanding anything in the lease. So it turns on the date written notice was actually given, not on the date the lease says the term ends.

How the parties settled it

They agree the existing rent runs for the full ninety days from that email, and a smaller increase takes effect after it under a fresh one-year lease.

Illustrative example

A month-to-month tenant who has been in the apartment eight months is told the rent goes up six per cent from next month.

How the wording applies

The five per cent threshold is crossed, so notice is required, and with under a year of occupancy and no lease term of at least a year the period is thirty days. The section governs the notice rather than the figure - it caps nothing, and an increase below five per cent would not engage it at all.

How the parties settled it

The increase takes effect a month later than proposed, and both agree that any future change is put in writing at least thirty days ahead whatever its size.

Illustrative example

A non-renewal notice arrives on time but says nothing about whether the apartment is covered by the good cause eviction law, or why it might be exempt.

How the wording applies

Until 15 June 2034 the notice must append or contain the good cause eviction notice required by § 231-c, stating whether the unit is covered, why it is exempt if it is not, the lawful basis for a non-renewal of a covered unit, and the justification for any increase above the local rent standard. So what this notice leaves out is part of what the section asks of it.

How the parties settled it

The landlord reissues the notice with the statement included, and both agree the notice period runs from the reissue so the tenant gets the time the section intended.

The same problem elsewhere

The other legal systems in this collection answer the same everyday problem with their own provisions.

The comparison and these one-line summaries are in English.

The landlord wants to raise the rent: four systems that limit it, and three civil codes that say nothing

Read the full comparison →

Related sections

N.Y. Real Property Law § 232-a NYC Notice to Terminate: N.Y. Real Property Law § 232-a N.Y. Real Property Law § 232-b One month notice: N.Y. Real Property Law § 232-b N.Y. Real Property Law § 215 RPL § 215: no removal without good cause N.Y. Real Property Law § 216 Good cause eviction grounds: N.Y. Real Property Law § 216 N.Y. Real Property Law § 223-b No Retaliatory Eviction: N.Y. Real Property Law § 223-b N.Y. Real Property Law § 218 RPL § 218: a tenant cannot sign away good cause eviction protection

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We copy this text from the official publisher and re-check it against that source on every page load, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for any reliance on it. An amendment can take effect before a consolidation catches up. The publisher's own copy is linked below; where the two differ, it is the official one that counts.

This page reproduces the text of N.Y. Real Property Law § 226-c in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in New York.

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