What a Landlord Cannot Do in New York: Rent, Entry, and Evictions

In New York, a landlord cannot discriminate against you, charge more than one month’s rent as a security deposit, let the apartment fall into unsafe condition, refuse to renew most leases without a legally recognized reason, raise your rent or end your tenancy without proper written notice, retaliate when you complain, enter your home without notice outside a true emergency, or try to force you out by changing locks, cutting utilities, or removing your belongings. Those are the main things a landlord cannot do in New York, and each has specific rules and penalties behind it.

Discriminate Against You

The state’s Human Rights Law protects a longer list of characteristics than federal fair housing law. A landlord cannot refuse to rent to you, offer worse lease terms, or treat you differently because of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, familial status, citizenship or immigration status, or status as a victim of domestic violence.¹

A landlord also cannot reject you because your rent will be paid through a Section 8 voucher or any other form of public assistance. That is a separate protected category under state law.² In New York City, the Fair Chance for Housing Act, effective January 1, 2025, generally bars most landlords from denying an application based on criminal history, with limited exceptions for sex offenses.

A no-pets policy does not override disability law. If you have a disability-related need for a service animal or emotional support animal, the landlord has to grant a reasonable accommodation. Documentation can be requested only when the need is not obvious, and the request can be denied only if the specific animal is a direct threat to safety or would cause significant property damage no other accommodation could resolve.³

Charge More Than the Law Allows

Security deposits are capped at one month’s rent for virtually every residential unit, stabilized or market-rate. A landlord cannot demand first month, last month, and a deposit together as a workaround.⁴

After you move out, the landlord has 14 days to return the full deposit or send an itemized statement for every dollar withheld. Deductions are limited to unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid utilities owed directly to the landlord, and the cost of moving or storing belongings you left behind. A landlord who blows the 14-day deadline loses the right to keep any part of the deposit.⁴ In buildings with six or more units, the deposit has to be placed in an interest-bearing New York bank account, and the interest belongs to you minus a 1% annual administrative fee the landlord may keep.⁵

Two fee limits are easy to miss:

Application fees cannot exceed $20, and that cap covers background and credit checks together.
Late fees cannot be charged until rent is at least five days overdue, and the charge cannot exceed $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less.⁶

Let the Apartment Fall Into Unsafe Condition

Every residential lease in New York, written or oral, carries an implied warranty of habitability. The tenant cannot waive it, and the landlord cannot write it out of the lease. The apartment and shared spaces have to stay fit for human habitation and free from conditions dangerous to life, health, or safety.⁷

In practice, that means a landlord cannot neglect heat during cold months, fail to supply hot water year-round, or ignore pest infestations. Plumbing, electrical systems, heating, ventilation, and any landlord-provided appliances have to be kept in safe working order, and structural elements like roofs, floors, and walls have to stay intact.⁸ When the warranty is breached, a court can award damages without requiring expert testimony, which the legislature built in deliberately so tenants would not need to hire consultants to bring the claim.⁷

Refuse to Renew Without a Legal Reason

The Good Cause Eviction Law, in effect since April 20, 2024, changed the default rule for most tenants. A landlord can no longer simply decline to renew a lease. The landlord has to show one of several recognized grounds to evict or refuse renewal.⁹

Those grounds include nonpayment of rent, a lease violation the tenant did not fix after a written 10-day cure notice, nuisance behavior that substantially interferes with the safety or comfort of others, illegal use of the apartment, and refusal to allow reasonable access for repairs or showings. A landlord can also seek the unit for genuine personal use by the landlord or a close family member, but only if no other suitable vacant unit in the building is available and the landlord actually intends to use it as a primary residence. Tenants who are 65 or older or who have a disability cannot be removed on the personal-use ground at all.⁹

The law also goes after pretext. A landlord cannot invent rules or violations to work around the protections, and if a landlord raises rent to an unreasonable level and then files for nonpayment, the unreasonable increase itself becomes a defense in court.⁹

Raise Rent or End Your Tenancy Without Proper Notice

Before ending a tenancy or raising rent by more than 5%, a landlord has to give advance written notice. The lead time depends on how long you have been there:

Less than one year, or a lease under 12 months: at least 30 days.
One to two years, or a lease of one to two years: at least 60 days.
More than two years, or a lease of two years or longer: at least 90 days.¹⁰

Under the Good Cause Eviction Law, the notice also has to state whether your unit is covered and, if the landlord is not renewing or is raising rent above the local rent standard, the legal justification.¹¹ A landlord who skips proper notice can lose the case in housing court on that ground alone.

Retaliate When You Complain

A landlord cannot punish you for using your legal rights. Retaliatory conduct is specifically prohibited when a tenant files a good-faith complaint with a government agency about a code violation, acts to enforce the warranty of habitability, or joins a tenants’ organization. Retaliation can look like an eviction filing, a rent hike, a refusal to renew, or a reduction in services.¹²

You can raise retaliation as an affirmative defense in any eviction proceeding, and a court that finds it has to rule for the tenant. You can also sue separately for damages, attorney’s fees, and injunctive relief.¹² A pattern of conduct meant to push you out, including threats, verbal abuse, repeated unwanted entries, or deliberately letting dangerous conditions persist, can also qualify as harassment, which the New York City Housing Maintenance Code treats as its own violation and allows tenants to bring to housing court.

Enter Your Home Whenever They Want

A landlord has a right to enter for legitimate reasons, not on demand. In New York City, a routine inspection requires at least 24 hours’ notice, and non-urgent repairs require at least one week of written notice before the work starts. Entry is limited to business hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and the landlord cannot demand access on weekends or holidays without your agreement.¹³

The one exception is a genuine emergency, such as a gas leak, burst pipe, or dangerous ceiling condition. In that situation no advance written notice is required, but the landlord still has to try to notify you by phone, email, or knocking at a reasonable hour.¹³ Outside New York City, no single statute sets exact notice periods, but you keep the general right to quiet enjoyment of your home, and repeated unannounced entries can support a harassment claim.

Evict You Themselves

This is where some landlords cross into criminal territory. A landlord cannot remove you except through a court-issued warrant of eviction, as long as you have occupied the unit for at least 30 consecutive days or hold a lease.¹⁴ Specifically, a landlord cannot:

Change or remove locks on the entrance door without giving you a key.
Remove your belongings from the apartment.
Shut off or threaten to shut off utilities, heat, or water.
Use or threaten force to make you leave.
Engage in a course of conduct intended to disturb your comfort or peaceful use of the home.¹⁴

An intentional violation is a Class A misdemeanor, and each act counts as a separate offense. Civil penalties run from $1,000 to $10,000 per violation, plus up to $100 per day if the landlord fails to restore the tenant to the unit after being asked.¹⁴ Even when a court does authorize eviction, the warrant has to give the tenant at least 14 days’ written notice before execution, and only a sheriff, marshal, or constable can carry it out, on a business day between sunrise and sunset.¹⁵

Skip Lead Paint Disclosure in Pre-1978 Buildings

If the building was constructed before 1978, federal law requires the landlord to give you specific disclosures before you sign. That means the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home,” disclosure of any known lead-based paint or hazards in the unit or common areas, and any available testing reports. A signed copy of the disclosure has to be kept for at least three years.¹⁶ A landlord who skips the disclosures faces federal penalties and potential civil liability if a tenant or child is later harmed by lead exposure.

Extra Limits If You Are Rent-Stabilized

Roughly one million New York City apartments are rent-stabilized, and landlords of those units face tighter rules on top of everything above. Rent cannot be raised beyond the percentage set each year by the Rent Guidelines Board. Reforms enacted in 2019 also eliminated several tactics landlords once used to push rents up or pull apartments out of stabilization: vacancy and longevity bonuses between tenants, high-rent deregulation in most situations, and sudden jumps from a preferential rent to the full legal rent at renewal.¹⁷ Major Capital Improvement and Individual Apartment Improvement rent increases are now tightly capped, require that any hazardous violations in the building or unit be cleared first, and cannot be approved retroactively.

1
New York State Senate. New York Executive Law 296 – Unlawful Discriminatory Practices
2
Homes and Community Renewal. Fair Housing Information
3
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals
4
New York State Senate. New York General Obligations Law 7-108
5
New York State Senate. New York General Obligations Law 7-103
6
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 238-A
7
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 235-B – Warranty of Habitability
8
New York State Attorney General. Legal Services and Code Enforcement
9
New York State Attorney General. New York State Good Cause Eviction Law
10
NYC.gov. Protections for All Tenants
11
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 226-C
12
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 223-B – Retaliation by Landlord Against Tenant
13
NYC Rules. NYC Rules 25-101 – Owners Right of Access and Requirements for Notification
14
FindLaw. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 768
15
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 749 – Warrant
16
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Real Estate Disclosures About Potential Lead Hazards
17
New York State Attorney General. Changes in New York State Rent Law