30-Day Notice to Vacate in NYC: Rules, Service, and Exceptions

A 30-day notice to vacate in NYC ends a month-to-month residential tenancy, but the 30-day minimum only applies when the tenant has lived in the unit less than one year. Once occupancy hits a year, the required notice grows, and several categories of apartments can’t be ended with a no-cause notice at all. Getting the period, content, timing, and service method right is what separates a clean holdover filing from a dismissed case.

When 30 Days Is Actually Enough

Real Property Law § 232-a governs termination of month-to-month tenancies in New York City, and for residential units it cross-references § 226-c, which sets notice periods based on how long the tenant has occupied the unit.¹ The tiers are:

Less than one year of occupancy: at least 30 days’ notice
One to two years: at least 60 days’ notice
Two years or more: at least 90 days’ notice

The clock runs on cumulative time in the unit, not the length of any single lease.² A tenant who signed three consecutive six-month leases and then went month-to-month has 18 months of occupancy and is owed 60 days. Serving 30 in that situation produces a defective notice that a housing court judge will dismiss.

For non-residential month-to-month tenancies, the rule is flat: at least 30 days before the end of the current term, regardless of length of occupancy.¹ Outside the five boroughs, § 232-b applies instead and has its own framework.³

Apartments Where a No-Cause Notice Won’t Work

Before drafting anything, confirm the unit can be ended without stating a reason. Two categories of NYC apartments have protections that make a bare termination notice ineffective.

Rent-Stabilized Units

Close to half of NYC’s rental apartments are rent-stabilized.⁴ Tenants in these units have a statutory right to renew. A landlord can refuse renewal only under narrow exceptions — the most common being a genuine need to use the apartment as a primary residence for the owner or an immediate family member — and must give between 90 and 150 days’ notice before the lease expires.⁵ If you’re unsure of the unit’s status, request the rent history from the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal.

Good Cause Eviction Coverage

Since April 2024, tenants in covered NYC apartments cannot be evicted or non-renewed without a legally recognized reason. The Good Cause Eviction Law is mandatory in New York City.⁶ Recognized grounds include nonpayment of rent, an uncured lease violation, nuisance behavior, and a genuine personal need for the unit.⁷

The law exempts:

Landlords owning 10 or fewer housing units statewide
Owner-occupied buildings with 10 or fewer residential units
Buildings with a certificate of occupancy issued on or after January 1, 2009
Rent-stabilized, rent-controlled, and income-restricted housing
Condos, co-ops, and sublets

If any individual with a direct or indirect ownership interest in a landlord’s LLC owns more than 10 total units, the small-landlord exemption does not apply.⁷ For covered units, a notice without a stated cause won’t survive a court challenge.

What the Notice Must Include

Section 232-a requires the notice to clearly state that the landlord is choosing to terminate the tenancy and will file a court case to remove the tenant if the tenant doesn’t leave by the specified date.¹ A notice that will hold up in housing court needs:

Full legal names of every adult occupant
The complete address, including apartment or unit number
A termination date aligned with the end of a rental period
A warning that a court proceeding will follow if the tenant does not vacate
The landlord’s signature, or an authorized agent’s signature with proof of authority
The Good Cause Eviction disclosure required by the 2024 amendments to § 226-c

Every termination notice — even one for an exempt building — must carry the Good Cause disclosure, and covered-unit notices must also state the lawful basis for non-renewal.² Omitting it creates a defect a tenant’s attorney will flag immediately. If an agent signs, attach or reference written authorization; tenants challenge signer authority regularly, and judges take the argument seriously.

The New York State Unified Court System publishes a template that includes the tiered periods and the warning clause.⁸ Whichever form you start from, verify it has been updated for the Good Cause disclosure. Plenty of forms still in circulation predate the 2024 law and are missing it entirely. A misspelled name or wrong apartment number can also sink the notice, so cross-check every identifier against your records before signing.

Picking the Termination Date

The termination date is not simply 30, 60, or 90 days from the day you serve. Under § 232-a, the notice period must expire before the end of a rental term.¹ In a typical month-to-month tenancy where rent falls due on the first, that means the termination date should be the last day of a calendar month.

Say the tenant has lived in the unit for eight months and you serve the notice on June 15. You need at least 30 days, and the date must land at the end of a rental period, so the tenancy ends July 31, not July 15. If the tenant has been there 18 months, you need 60 days, pushing the earliest valid date to August 31.²

Timing errors are the single most common reason holdover petitions get thrown out. Build in extra days for the process server to complete delivery, and when you’re close to a month’s end, target the following month rather than risk a defective notice.

How to Serve the Notice

Section 232-a directs landlords to use the same service methods allowed for court papers in a summary proceeding.¹ Those methods appear in RPAPL § 735:

Personal delivery: handing the notice directly to the tenant
Substituted service: leaving it with a person of suitable age and discretion at the residence, then mailing copies by both certified and regular first-class mail within one day
Conspicuous-place service: posting on the door or sliding it under the entrance door, then mailing copies by both certified and regular first-class mail within one day

Conspicuous-place service (“nail and mail”) is available only when no one answers the door and no suitable person can be found at the residence.⁹ A server who jumps to nail-and-mail without first attempting personal and substituted service gives the tenant a valid objection.

The statute doesn’t explicitly require a licensed process server, but using one is the practical standard in NYC. A professional server produces a notarized affidavit of service showing when, where, and how the notice was delivered, and NYC-licensed servers must use GPS tracking to verify their location.¹⁰ That affidavit is your evidence in court. Keep the original signed notice, all mailing receipts, and the affidavit together for the holdover petition.

Don’t Cash Rent Checks After You Serve

This is where landlords routinely sabotage their own cases. Accepting rent for a period that falls after the termination date can waive the notice entirely and create a new month-to-month tenancy, because taking money for a future period signals that the tenancy continues. New York courts have held that accepting rent with knowledge of a default constitutes a waiver, and even contractual non-waiver clauses don’t always survive judicial scrutiny.

If a check arrives after service, return it with a written note stating that the tenancy is being terminated as specified in the notice. Don’t deposit it “just in case.” One cashed check can force you to restart the entire process.

If the Tenant Stays Past the Termination Date

The next step is filing a holdover petition in NYC Housing Court. Do not change the locks, remove belongings, or shut off utilities. All of that is illegal self-help eviction in New York and exposes you to criminal charges and civil liability.

The holdover petition is a separate filing asking a judge to order the tenant removed. You’ll need the original notice, the affidavit of service, and proof of ownership or authority over the property. The petition and notice of petition then have to be served on the tenant using the same RPAPL § 735 methods, and proof of that second service must be filed with the court within three days.⁹

Once the case is before a judge, the tenant can raise defenses, including any defect in the notice: wrong termination date, missing Good Cause disclosure, improper service, or an incorrect notice period. If the court rules for the landlord, it issues a warrant of eviction, and a city marshal carries out the physical removal after giving the tenant at least 14 days’ additional notice. The full process routinely takes several months in NYC Housing Court, even in uncontested cases.

If You’re the Tenant Who Received the Notice

Check three things right away. First, count from the date of service and confirm the landlord used the correct tier for your length of occupancy; a 30-day notice served on someone who has been there over a year is defective.² Second, check whether the apartment is rent-stabilized or covered by the Good Cause Eviction Law; if it is, a no-cause termination notice is invalid regardless of the period.⁷ Third, look for the required Good Cause Eviction disclosure.

Any defect is a defense you can raise if the landlord files a holdover proceeding. NYC Housing Court offers free legal assistance through court-based help centers, and tenants facing eviction in New York City have a right to appointed counsel through the city’s Universal Access program. If the notice looks defective or you think your apartment is protected, talk to an attorney before the termination date arrives.

1
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law RPP 232-a – Notice to Terminate Monthly Tenancy or Tenancy From Month to Month in the City of New York
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 RPP 232-b – Notification to Terminate Monthly Tenancy or Tenancy From Month to Month Outside the City of New York
4
NYC.gov. Rent Stabilization
5
Rent Guidelines Board. Rent Stabilization FAQs
6
New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Good Cause Eviction
7
New York State Attorney General. New York State Good Cause Eviction Law
8
New York State Unified Court System. Landlord’s Notice to Terminate Month-to-Month Tenancy
9
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 735 – Manner of Service; Filing; When Service Complete
10
NYC Consumer and Worker Protection. Information for Process Server Industry