NYC Month-to-Month Lease Rules: Notice, Good Cause, and Rent Hikes

If you rent an apartment in New York City on a month-to-month basis, the rules governing your tenancy come from a mix of state statutes and, since April 2024, the state’s good cause eviction law. In short: your landlord must give you 30, 60, or 90 days’ written notice before ending the tenancy or raising rent by 5% or more, cannot collect more than one month’s rent as a security deposit, is capped on late fees, cannot retaliate against you for exercising your rights, and — in many market-rate apartments — now needs a legally recognized reason to refuse to continue renting to you.

How a Month-to-Month Tenancy Starts

There are two common paths. You and your landlord can agree to a monthly arrangement from the beginning, in writing or verbally. Oral rental agreements are enforceable in New York for terms of one year or less.¹

More often, month-to-month status is created by holding over. Under Real Property Law § 232-c, if your fixed-term lease expires, you stay in the apartment, and your landlord accepts a rent payment, the tenancy automatically converts to month-to-month.¹ The terms of the old lease generally carry forward, but either side can now end the arrangement with proper notice.

One boundary worth flagging: rent-stabilized tenants do not become ordinary month-to-month tenants when a lease ends. They have a legal right to a one- or two-year renewal on the same terms, and refusal is only permitted in narrow circumstances such as the apartment not being used as a primary residence.¹ If you’re rent-stabilized, the rules below are largely beside the point because your protections run stronger.

How Much Notice a Landlord Must Give to End the Tenancy

A landlord who wants to end your month-to-month tenancy must give you written notice. The amount of notice depends on how long you’ve lived there, under Real Property Law § 226-c:

Less than one year of occupancy: at least 30 days’ written notice.
One to two years of occupancy: at least 60 days’ written notice.
More than two years of occupancy: at least 90 days’ written notice.

The tier is set by the longer of your cumulative occupancy or your lease term.² If the notice is short or late, your tenancy doesn’t end early. It continues on the existing terms until the full notice period runs from the date you actually received the written notice.

Real Property Law § 232-a, which applies specifically inside the five boroughs, directs landlords of residential tenants to follow those § 226-c notice periods.³ The notice must be served the same way a court petition would be, generally personal delivery or a substitute-and-mail method.

If You’re the One Leaving

Give your landlord at least one month’s written notice before the end of a rental period. Check the original lease as well, because it may specify a different notice requirement that carries over. Walking out without proper notice can leave you on the hook for an additional month’s rent.

Good Cause Eviction Protections

Since April 20, 2024, many NYC month-to-month tenants have an added layer of protection under the state’s good cause eviction law. In a covered apartment, a landlord cannot end your tenancy simply because they want to, or because someone else will pay more. They need a legally recognized reason, and lack of good cause is a defense you can raise in Housing Court.⁴

This is a significant shift for month-to-month renters. Before the law, a landlord in a market-rate apartment could send the required 30-, 60-, or 90-day notice and decline to continue the tenancy for any reason at all. Now, in covered units, the notice must include a good cause basis for non-renewal and state whether the apartment is subject to the good cause eviction law.²

Which Apartments Are Covered

Most market-rate rentals in NYC are covered, but the exemptions cover a large slice of the housing stock. Your apartment is not covered if:

Your landlord owns 10 or fewer total residential units statewide.
The landlord lives in the building and it has 10 or fewer units.
The apartment is rent-stabilized, rent-controlled, public housing, or subject to another government rent or income restriction.
Monthly rent exceeds 245% of the area’s Fair Market Rent, as published annually by the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal.
The building received its certificate of occupancy on or after January 1, 2009 (coverage kicks in 30 years after that certificate was issued).
The unit is a condo, co-op, seasonal housing, dormitory, or tied to employment.

⁵

If you can’t tell whether you’re covered, the landlord’s termination or non-renewal notice has to tell you. A notice claiming the unit is exempt must explain the basis for the exemption.²

Rent Increases

Your landlord cannot simply announce a higher rent next month. For any proposed increase of 5% or more, the landlord must give you the same tiered written notice used for non-renewal: 30 days under a year, 60 days for one to two years, and 90 days for more than two years.² Increases under 5% don’t trigger those notice periods, but the landlord still can’t implement one mid-month without your agreement.

For apartments covered by good cause eviction, there’s an additional check. If a proposed increase exceeds the local rent standard published by the state, the landlord must justify the amount and can only push above that standard for legitimate reasons such as significant property tax increases or major capital improvements. That gives many market-rate month-to-month tenants a soft cap for the first time.⁵

If your landlord skips or shortens the required notice, the higher rent doesn’t take effect on the intended date. Your tenancy continues at the old rent until the full notice period runs from the date you actually received the written notice.²

Retaliation Protections

Month-to-month tenants renew so often that retaliation is a real risk. Real Property Law § 223-b addresses it directly. A landlord cannot terminate your tenancy, refuse to renew, or substantially alter the terms of your rental because you exercised a legal right. Protected activities include making a good-faith complaint about health or safety violations, taking action to enforce the warranty of habitability, and participating in a tenants’ organization.⁶

“Substantial alteration” is defined to include offering a new lease with an unreasonable rent increase. And the statute creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if the landlord acts within one year of your protected complaint or activity, which shifts the burden to the landlord to prove the action was for a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason.⁶

Security Deposit Rules

Security deposit law applies to month-to-month tenancies exactly the way it applies to fixed-term leases. Under General Obligations Law § 7-108, your landlord cannot collect more than one month’s rent as a security deposit. No pet deposits, no last month’s rent up front, nothing beyond that one month.⁷

When you move out, the landlord has 14 days to either return the full deposit or send you an itemized statement of any deductions along with the balance. Permissible deductions are limited to unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid utility charges owed directly to the landlord under the lease, and the cost of moving and storing belongings you left behind. Damage from a prior tenant and ordinary wear can’t be charged to you.⁷

Miss the 14-day deadline and the landlord forfeits the right to keep any part of the deposit, regardless of actual damages. A willful violation can also mean punitive damages of up to twice the deposit amount.⁷

Two inspections back this up. Before you move in, the landlord must offer a joint inspection to document existing conditions in writing; anything on that list can’t later be pulled from your deposit. After you give notice to leave, the landlord must offer a second inspection between one and two weeks before the end of the tenancy, with at least 48 hours’ written notice of the inspection date.⁷

Late Fee Cap

Under Real Property Law § 238-a, no late fee can be charged unless rent is at least five days overdue. When it is, the fee cannot exceed $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less.⁸ On a $2,000 apartment, the cap is $50. On a $900 apartment, it’s $45. Any lease clause demanding more is unenforceable.

If You Stay Past a Termination Notice

A termination notice is not an eviction. If the notice period expires and you’re still there, your landlord cannot change the locks, cut off utilities, or remove your belongings. The only legal path is a holdover proceeding in NYC Housing Court, and the landlord has to file a Notice of Petition and Petition to start one. The process routinely takes months, and even after a warrant of eviction issues, a city marshal or sheriff must deliver a Notice of Eviction giving you at least 14 more days to move, with the eviction itself only permitted on a business day during daylight hours.⁹

1
Attorney General of New York. Residential Tenants’ Rights Guide
2
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 226-C – Notice of Rent Increase or Non-Renewal of Residential Tenancy
3
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 232-A – Notice to Terminate Monthly Tenancy or Tenancy From Month to Month in the City of New York
4
NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Good Cause Eviction
5
Attorney General of New York. New York State Good Cause Eviction Law
6
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 223-B – Retaliation by Landlord Against Tenant
7
New York State Senate. New York General Obligations Law 7-108 – Deposits Made in Connection With Residential Rental Property
8
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 238-A – Limitation on Fees
9
New York State Unified Court System. Tenant’s Guide – Holdover Eviction Case