New York 30-Day Notice to Terminate Tenancy: Good Cause Rules

In New York, a landlord’s 30-day notice to terminate a tenancy is the shortest of three notice periods set by Real Property Law 226-c, and it is available only when the tenant has occupied the unit for less than one year. Longer tenancies require 60 or 90 days. And since April 2024, the Good Cause Eviction law has made even a properly timed 30-day notice unenforceable in covered areas unless the landlord can point to a recognized reason for ending the tenancy.

Who Actually Gets 30 Days

Real Property Law 226-c ties the notice period to how long the tenant has lived in the unit, not to the current lease term. Cumulative occupancy is what counts.¹

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

A tenant who has been in the same apartment 18 months on back-to-back short leases is a 60-day tenant, not a 30-day tenant. The same tiered notice applies when a landlord proposes a rent increase of 5% or more, not just when ending a tenancy.¹

If the notice goes out late, the tenancy does not end on the date the landlord picked. It continues on existing terms until 30 full days have run from the date the tenant actually received written notice.¹

Inside New York City, Real Property Law 232-a routes month-to-month terminations through these same 226-c periods.² Outside the city, residential landlords use the 226-c framework as well; the older 232-b now covers only tenant-initiated terminations and non-residential notices.³

Good Cause Eviction Can Void a 30-Day Notice

New York’s Good Cause Eviction law took effect on April 20, 2024. Where it applies, a landlord cannot decline to renew a lease or end a month-to-month tenancy just because they want the unit back. There must be a recognized ground for the eviction, and that ground has to appear in the notice itself.⁴

The law currently covers rental housing in New York City, Albany, Ithaca, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Beacon, Newburgh, Nyack, Hudson, New Paltz, Fishkill, Catskill, Croton-on-Hudson, and Binghamton, with other localities free to opt in.⁴

Recognized Grounds

In a covered unit, the landlord must show one of the following:

Nonpayment of rent, unless the underlying increase was unreasonable.
A lease violation the tenant did not cure within 10 days of written notice.
Nuisance behavior, including substantial malicious damage or interference with other residents.
Habitual illegal use of the apartment, such as drug sales.
The landlord’s good-faith intent to occupy the unit as a primary residence, with no other suitable vacant unit in the building.
A good-faith plan to withdraw the unit from the rental market or demolish the building.
Repeated refusal to allow lawful access after reasonable notice.

If none of these fits, a 30-day non-renewal notice on a covered unit will not survive in court.⁴

Exempt Units

Plenty of rentals are not covered. Good Cause does not reach units:

Owned by a “small landlord” (in NYC, someone with 10 or fewer units statewide; other localities may define this differently).
In an owner-occupied building with 10 or fewer residential units.
Rent-regulated, income-restricted, or held as a condo or co-op.
In buildings with a certificate of occupancy issued on or after January 1, 2009.
Sublets, dormitories, seasonal housing, manufactured homes, or housing tied to employment.
In assisted living residences, hospitals, or continuing-care retirement communities.

An LLC does not shield the owner. If any person with a direct or indirect interest in the LLC owns more than 10 units total, the small-landlord exemption is gone.⁴ For exempt units, a 30-day notice can end the tenancy without stating a reason, provided the timing and content rules are met.

What the Notice Must Say

A 30-day termination notice has to identify who is being asked to leave, from where, and by when. At minimum, include:

The full names of every tenant on the lease or rental agreement.
The property address with building number and apartment or unit designation.
A firm termination date that falls on the last day of a rental period. If rent is due on the first, the termination date should be the last day of a month.

The New York State Unified Court System publishes a standardized termination notice form that lines up with the 30-, 60-, and 90-day tiers.⁵ Modeling the notice on that form reduces the risk of a court finding it defective.

Good Cause Disclosures on the Notice

Since Good Cause took effect, 226-c requires the notice itself to address the law. It must state whether the unit is subject to Good Cause. If the unit is exempt, the notice must say why. If the unit is covered and the landlord is not renewing, the notice must state the lawful basis for the non-renewal.¹ Skip these disclosures and the tenant has an immediate argument that the notice is invalid.

How to Serve the Notice

Content is only half the job. In New York City, Real Property Law 232-a requires termination notices to be served the same way a notice of petition would be in a summary proceeding,² which points to the methods set out in Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 735:

Personal delivery. Someone hands the notice to the tenant. Effective immediately.
Substituted service. If the tenant is not available, the server leaves the notice with a person of suitable age and discretion who lives or works at the property, then mails a copy to the tenant within one day by both certified or registered mail and regular first-class mail.
Conspicuous-place service, sometimes called “nail and mail.” If no one can be found, the server affixes the notice to a visible part of the premises or slides it under the door, then mails copies within one day by both certified or registered mail and regular first-class mail.

Any later notice of petition and petition must be served the same way and filed with the court within three days of mailing.⁶

The person doing the serving must be at least 18 and cannot be a party to the case,⁷ so the landlord cannot personally hand the notice to the tenant. After service, the server should sign a sworn affidavit describing exactly how, when, and where the notice was delivered. That affidavit is the proof of service if the matter reaches court, and weak proof is one of the fastest ways to lose a holdover case.

After the 30 Days Run Out

If the tenant does not leave by the termination date, they become a holdover. What the landlord does next matters. Under Real Property Law 232-c, accepting rent after the tenancy expires generally creates a new month-to-month tenancy, which wipes out the termination notice and forces the process to start over.⁸ A landlord who intends to proceed with removal should stop accepting rent on the termination date.

Removing the tenant then requires a holdover proceeding in the local court with jurisdiction over the property, which is Housing Court in New York City and district or city court elsewhere. The landlord prepares a Notice of Petition and Petition, has them served under RPAPL 735, and appears on the scheduled date. The tenant can appear, raise defenses, and negotiate. Only a court-issued warrant of eviction, enforced by a sheriff or marshal, actually removes a tenant.

Self-Help Is Never the Answer

Changing the locks, cutting utilities, or moving a tenant’s belongings out without a court order is an unlawful eviction. Under RPAPL 853, a tenant who is forcibly or unlawfully removed can recover treble damages, meaning three times their actual losses.⁹ Once the tenant does leave, the landlord must give a reasonable window to collect personal property; discarding or keeping the tenant’s belongings is not allowed.¹⁰

Tenants Leaving on Their Own Schedule

The tiered notice periods bind landlords, not tenants. A New York City tenant ending a month-to-month tenancy gives notice before the start of the next monthly term under 232-a.² Outside the city, the tenant gives at least one month’s notice before the end of a rental term under 232-b.³ A tenant who has been in place three years still only owes one month’s notice to end things.

1
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 226-C – Notice of Rent Increase or Non-Renewal of Residential Tenancy
2
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
3
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 232-B – Notification to Terminate Monthly Tenancy or Tenancy From Month to Month Outside the City of New York
4
New York State Attorney General. New York State Good Cause Eviction Law
5
New York State Unified Court System. Landlords Notice to Terminate Month to Month Tenancy
6
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 735 – Manner of Service, Filing, When Service Complete
7
FindLaw. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Rule 2103
8
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 232-C – Holding Over by a Tenant After Expiration of a Term Longer Than One Month, Effect of Acceptance of Rent
9
Justia Law. Mrishaj v Moore, 2023 NY Slip Op 23339
10
New York State Attorney General. Residential Tenants Rights Guide