The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 is the New York law, signed on June 14, 2019, that rewrote the state’s landlord-tenant rules more thoroughly than any legislation in a generation. It made rent stabilization permanent, closed the main routes landlords had used to deregulate apartments, capped security deposits at one month’s rent statewide, and extended eviction protections to both regulated and market-rate tenants. Parts of it have since been amended, most notably by the FY24 state budget, so the rules on the books today reflect both the original act and later adjustments.
Rent Stabilization Is Now Permanent
Rent stabilization used to carry a sunset date. The legislature had to renew it on a cycle, and each cycle turned into a political fight that left tenants uncertain whether the program would survive. The HSTPA repealed the sunset entirely. Stabilization is now a permanent fixture of New York housing law rather than a program that could lapse.
The two main deregulation pathways are also gone. Before 2019, an apartment could leave stabilization when its legal rent crossed a threshold of $2,774.76, either on vacancy or through accumulated increases. Landlords could also petition to deregulate a unit when the tenant’s household income topped $200,000 for two consecutive years and the rent was above the threshold. As of June 14, 2019, all forms of deregulation have been repealed, with a narrow carve-out for certain 421-a(16) tax-benefit apartments.1New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Rent Stabilization and Emergency Tenant Protection Act Once an apartment is stabilized, it stays stabilized regardless of how high the rent climbs or how much the tenant earns.
Vacancy Bonuses Eliminated
Since 1997, landlords had collected an automatic 20% rent increase every time a stabilized tenant moved out, plus a longevity bonus of 0.6% per year if the unit had not turned over in eight or more years. The HSTPA eliminated both, and it bars the New York City Rent Guidelines Board from adopting any vacancy-based increase in the future. When a stabilized tenant leaves, the incoming tenant’s rent is the prior legal regulated rent plus whatever guideline adjustment the RGB has approved for that lease term.
Preferential Rents Locked In
Landlords sometimes charge less than the maximum legal regulated rent, which is called a preferential rent. Before the HSTPA, a landlord could reset to the full legal rent at any renewal, and tenants who had budgeted around the lower figure often got hit with a sudden jump. The HSTPA locks a preferential rent in for the length of the tenancy. Renewal increases are calculated off the preferential rent, not the legal maximum. The landlord can only reset to the full legal rent after the tenant moves out and a new tenancy begins.
New Limits on Renovation Rent Increases
Owners of rent-stabilized buildings can still seek rent increases to recoup renovation costs, but the HSTPA sharply narrowed what those increases can do to a tenant’s bill and how long they last. The FY24 state budget then adjusted the individual-apartment side of these rules further, so the current framework is a two-layer picture.
Major Capital Improvements
A Major Capital Improvement is a building-wide upgrade, such as a new roof, boiler, windows, or plumbing system. The cost is spread across all apartments as a monthly surcharge. Under the HSTPA, the annual MCI increase that can actually be collected from any one tenant is capped at 2% of that tenant’s rent. Anything above the cap is banked and collected in later years. MCI increases are no longer permanent additions to the legal rent; they must be removed 30 years after they took effect.2New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Apartment (IAI) and Building (MCI) Improvements
Individual Apartment Improvements
An Individual Apartment Improvement covers work inside a specific unit, such as a kitchen renovation or new bathroom fixtures. The HSTPA originally capped IAI spending at $15,000 over any 15-year period, with rent increases figured as 1/168th of the cost in buildings with 35 or fewer units and 1/180th in larger buildings. Those increases were set to expire after 30 years.
The FY24 state budget, enacted in 2023, raised the spending cap to $30,000 over 15 years and gave landlords two ways to calculate the resulting rent increase. The first method keeps the original 1/168th and 1/180th amortization rates and produces a temporary surcharge. The second uses faster rates of 1/144th for buildings with 35 or fewer units and 1/156th for larger buildings, but the resulting increase becomes permanent.3Homes and Community Renewal. Changes to NYS Housing Laws Enacted in the FY24 Budget The choice is a trade-off between a lower surcharge that eventually disappears and a higher one that stays on the rent roll.
Security Deposit Cap and 14-Day Return Rule
No landlord in New York can collect a security deposit greater than one month’s rent. The only exceptions are seasonal-use dwellings and owner-occupied cooperative apartments, which are covered by separate provisions.4New York State Senate. New York General Obligations Law 7-108 – Deposits Made in Connection With Leases The cap ended the common practice of demanding two or three months upfront.
After the tenant moves out, the landlord has 14 days to return the full deposit or provide an itemized statement of deductions. Acceptable deductions are limited to unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid utility charges owed directly to the landlord, and the cost of moving and storing belongings the tenant left behind. Miss the 14-day deadline or skip the itemized breakdown, and the landlord forfeits the right to keep any portion of the deposit, even where real damage exists.4New York State Senate. New York General Obligations Law 7-108 – Deposits Made in Connection With Leases
Tenants can also request a pre-move-out inspection. After either side gives notice that the tenancy is ending, the landlord must tell the tenant in writing about this right. If the tenant asks for it, the inspection happens between two weeks and one week before move-out, with at least 48 hours’ written notice of the date and time. The landlord then gives the tenant an itemized list of proposed deductions, so problems can be fixed before the deposit is at stake.4New York State Senate. New York General Obligations Law 7-108 – Deposits Made in Connection With Leases These deposit rules apply to all residential tenancies in New York, not only rent-stabilized ones.
Application Fees and Late Fees
A landlord or agent can charge no more than $20 for a rental application, and the fee must reflect the actual cost of the background and credit checks, whichever is less. If the applicant hands over their own background or credit report from the past 30 days, the fee must be waived. The landlord also has to give the applicant a copy of any report pulled, along with the receipt or invoice from the reporting agency.5New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 238-A – Limitation on Fees Separately, landlords cannot deny an applicant based on prior involvement in housing court proceedings.
Late fees are capped at $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less, and no fee can be charged until the rent is at least five days overdue.5New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 238-A – Limitation on Fees For a tenant paying $900 a month, the maximum is $45. At $1,500 a month, it caps at $50.
Notice Requirements Before a Rent Hike or Non-Renewal
Before a landlord raises the rent by more than 5% or declines to renew a lease, the tenant is entitled to advance written notice. The length depends on how long the tenant has occupied the unit or the lease term, whichever is longer:
- Less than one year: at least 30 days.
- One year to less than two years: at least 60 days.
- Two years or more: at least 90 days.
These periods apply to both stabilized and market-rate tenancies and replaced a patchwork of local rules that often gave tenants little warning.6New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 226-C – Notice of Rent Increase or Non-Renewal of Residential Tenancy
Stopping an Eviction for Nonpayment
In a nonpayment case, a tenant can stop the eviction by paying the full amount owed at any point before a marshal or sheriff actually executes the warrant. Once the tenant tenders or deposits the full amount with the court, the warrant must be vacated, unless the landlord proves the tenant withheld rent in bad faith.7New York State Senate. New York Code RPA 749 – Warrant A tenant who pulls the money together after losing a judgment still keeps the apartment, so long as payment comes before the physical lockout.
Courts can also stay an eviction for up to one year in cases of extreme hardship. The tenant has to show that suitable alternative housing is not available in the neighborhood and that the tenant or family would suffer serious harm without the stay. Judges are told to weigh factors including serious illness, worsening of an ongoing health condition, a child’s enrollment in a local school, and other significant life circumstances, and to consider any substantial hardship the stay would impose on the landlord. The court can require the tenant to keep paying rent during the stay.8New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 753 – Stay in Premises Occupied for Dwelling Purposes
Criminal Penalties for Unlawful Evictions
The HSTPA added RPAPL ยง 768, which makes unlawful eviction a Class A misdemeanor anywhere in New York State. It covers using or threatening force against an occupant, interfering with a tenant’s ability to use the home, or engaging in conduct meant to push a lawful occupant out. Civil fines run from $1,000 to $5,000 per violation. If a court finds an unlawful eviction occurred, it must restore the occupant to possession. Before this provision, self-help evictions were addressed through a patchwork of local rules, and remedies outside New York City were often weak.
Owner-Use Evictions Narrowed
Landlords of rent-stabilized buildings can still try to recover an apartment for personal use or for an immediate family member’s primary residence, but the HSTPA cut this right down. Only one unit in a building can be recovered under this provision, and it cannot be used at all if the current tenant is 62 or older, has lived in the building for 20 years or more, or has a disability that prevents them from engaging in substantial gainful employment. If a landlord makes a fraudulent statement about the intended use, the displaced tenant can sue for damages, declaratory relief, and injunctive relief, and a prevailing tenant can recover attorney’s fees.
Harder to Convert Rentals to Co-ops or Condos
Converting a rental building to a cooperative or condominium got much harder. The old rules let a “non-eviction” conversion plan take effect once just 15% of tenants in occupancy agreed to purchase, and sponsors could count outside purchasers who intended to live in the building toward that number. The HSTPA raised the threshold to 51% of tenants in occupancy and eliminated outside buyers from the count. In a building full of long-term renters, hitting a majority is a steep climb, which effectively gives existing tenants veto power over conversions.
Six-Year Rent Overcharge Lookback
Tenants who suspect their legal regulated rent has been inflated can file overcharge complaints, and the HSTPA extended how far back the state can look. The window was four years; it is now six years for both overcharge liability and treble damages. That longer window makes it harder for improper increases to become permanent simply by waiting out the clock, and it gives tenants a more realistic chance to challenge a rent they believe was improperly set.