If you’re living in a New York City apartment without a written lease and paying rent each month, you’re a tenant at will in NYC, and the law treats you as a month-to-month tenant with real protections. Your landlord cannot push you out on a few days’ notice, cannot change the locks, and in many buildings cannot end your tenancy at all without a legally recognized reason. The baseline is a written termination notice of at least 30 days under New York Real Property Law, and depending on how long you’ve lived there, you may be entitled to 60 or 90 days instead.1Real Property Law Section 228; Real Property Law Section 226-c
Are You Actually a Tenant at Will?
The most common way this status forms is simple: your written lease expires, you keep living in the apartment, and the landlord keeps accepting rent. At that point New York treats you as a month-to-month tenant with no fixed end date and the same basic obligations you had before. It can also start from scratch when a landlord verbally agrees to let you move in and pay rent without ever signing anything.
The regular exchange of rent is what gives the arrangement its legal weight. If you’re paying and the landlord is accepting, mutual consent exists and the full range of tenant protections applies. The line matters because people living rent-free, like a family member staying with you or a friend on the couch, are usually licensees rather than tenants, and licensees don’t carry the same protections. Paying rent, or showing a clear intent to establish a permanent residence, is what pushes someone across that line into tenant-at-will territory and triggers formal eviction protections.
How Much Notice the Landlord Must Give
Two statutes stack here, and the second one catches many landlords off guard. Real Property Law Section 228 sets the floor at 30 days’ written notice. Section 226-c, added by the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, lengthens that period based on how long you’ve been in the unit:
- Less than one year of occupancy: at least 30 days’ notice
- One to two years of occupancy: at least 60 days’ notice
- More than two years of occupancy: at least 90 days’ notice
The clock runs on cumulative time in the apartment or the length of the most recent lease term, whichever is longer. A landlord who gives a two-and-a-half-year tenant only 30 days has served a defective notice, and a court will likely dismiss an eviction proceeding that follows. This is one of the most consequential mistakes landlords make in these cases, and it’s worth checking the dates on any notice you receive.
How the Notice Must Be Delivered
Section 228 spells out three methods of service in order of preference. The notice should be delivered directly to you. If you can’t be found, it can be given to a person of suitable age and discretion who lives at the premises. Only if neither you nor such a person can be found may the landlord affix it to a conspicuous part of the premises where it can be easily read. A notice slipped under the door or dropped in the mail, with no attempt at personal delivery, can create problems for the landlord if the case reaches court.
Does the Landlord Even Need a Reason?
Since April 20, 2024, New York’s Good Cause Eviction Law, codified as Real Property Law Article 6A, has changed the answer for many NYC apartments. For covered units, a landlord cannot simply decide they want you out and serve a termination notice. They must prove an accepted ground in court. The recognized grounds include nonpayment of rent, violating a lease term or reasonable building rule (with a written 10-day notice to cure first), nuisance behavior that interferes with other residents, illegal use of the apartment, refusing the landlord reasonable access for repairs, or the landlord’s own need to occupy the unit for themselves or a close family member.2Real Property Law Article 6A (Good Cause Eviction Law), effective April 20, 2024
Not every NYC apartment is covered. The law exempts:
- Units owned by small landlords with 10 or fewer residential units statewide
- Owner-occupied buildings with 10 or fewer units where the owner lives on-site
- Rent-regulated apartments, which have their own renewal and eviction protections
- Apartments with monthly rent above 245% of the HUD fair market rent for the area
- Buildings that received a certificate of occupancy after January 1, 2009, for 30 years after issuance
- Condos, co-ops, and sublets
- Dormitories, assisted living facilities, manufactured homes, seasonal units, and housing provided by religious institutions
If your apartment falls into one of these categories, the older rules still apply and the landlord can terminate with the required statutory notice and no specific reason. If your unit is covered, the landlord has a much higher bar. Figuring out which side of that line you’re on is the single most important thing to determine about your situation.
Rights You Keep Without a Lease
Warranty of Habitability
Every residential tenancy in New York, written lease or handshake, comes with the warranty of habitability under Real Property Law Section 235-b.3Real Property Law Section 235-b The landlord must keep the apartment and common areas fit for human habitation and safe: working heat, hot water, functioning plumbing, a structurally sound building, and freedom from hazards like lead paint or pest infestations. You cannot waive this, and the landlord cannot write it out of any agreement. Courts can order rent reductions proportional to the severity of the problem. Having no lease changes nothing about this protection.
Security Deposit Limits
Under General Obligations Law Section 7-108, a landlord cannot charge a security deposit greater than one month’s rent.4General Obligations Law Section 7-108 When you move out, the landlord has 14 days to return the deposit along with an itemized statement of any deductions. Allowable deductions are limited to unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, and unpaid utility charges owed directly to the landlord. Miss the 14-day deadline and the landlord forfeits the right to keep any portion of the deposit. A willful violation can expose the landlord to punitive damages up to twice the deposit amount.
Protection Against Retaliation
Real Property Law Section 223-b prohibits landlords from retaliating against tenants who exercise their rights.5Real Property Law Section 223-b A landlord cannot serve a termination notice, start an eviction case, or substantially change the terms of your tenancy because you filed a good faith complaint about health or safety conditions, took action to enforce the warranty of habitability, or participated in a tenant organization. If a court finds retaliation, the eviction case gets dismissed and the landlord faces liability for damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
What a Legal Eviction Actually Looks Like
If you remain in the apartment after the notice period expires, the landlord’s only legal path is a holdover proceeding in New York City Housing Court. New York law is unambiguous: no landlord can legally evict a residential tenant without a court judgment. Changing the locks, shutting off utilities, or removing your belongings without a court order is an illegal eviction, lease or no lease.
At the court hearing, the judge reviews whether the landlord followed every procedural step: proper notice period, proper service, and proper grounds if good cause applies. If any step was defective, the case can be dismissed. Tenants who show up and raise valid defenses fare dramatically better than those who don’t appear. If you receive holdover papers, showing up is not optional.
When the landlord wins, the court issues a Judgment of Possession, and the landlord can then request a Warrant of Eviction. Only a New York City marshal or sheriff can execute that warrant. The marshal must serve you with a notice of eviction, and the actual removal cannot occur until at least 14 days after that notice. That final window is your last opportunity to move out voluntarily or seek emergency relief from the court. From filing to physical eviction, the process commonly takes several months.
If the Building Is Sold
A change in ownership does not end your tenancy. The buyer takes title subject to existing tenancies, and the new owner steps into the former landlord’s role with the same obligations. The sale is not an exception to the Section 226-c notice periods, so a new owner must still provide 30, 60, or 90 days’ notice based on how long you’ve lived there before trying to terminate. If you’re told you have to leave immediately because the building was sold, that is incorrect.