How much notice does a landlord have to give to raise rent in New York?

Thirty, sixty or ninety days, depending on how long you have lived there, under Real Property Law section 226-c. Thirty days applies under a year of occupancy, sixty between one and two years, and ninety beyond two years or on a lease term of at least two years. The tiers are triggered only where the increase is five per cent or more above the current rent, or where the landlord does not intend to renew.

Does the notice rule apply to a small rent increase in New York?

No. Section 226-c is triggered by an increase equal to or greater than five per cent above your current rent, so a smaller rise sits outside it and needs only whatever notice your lease requires. That is the position in a market-rate tenancy. In a rent-stabilised unit the Rent Guidelines Board governs the permitted adjustment regardless of size, so the five per cent threshold is not the test there.

I have renewed my lease three times. Which notice period applies?

The ninety-day tier, if the renewals add up to more than two years. The period is set by the cumulative time you have occupied the residence or the length of the tenancy in each lease, whichever is longer. Three consecutive one-year leases therefore count as more than two years of occupancy, not as a one-year tenancy. A sixty-day notice in that situation is short of what the statute requires.

New York Rent Increase Notice and the 5% Threshold

Q: What happens if my landlord gives late notice in New York?

Your tenancy continues on the existing terms, at the existing rent, from the date actual written notice was given until the notice period expires. Section 226-c says this applies notwithstanding any provision of a lease or other tenancy agreement to the contrary, so a clause purporting to shorten the period or deem notice given earlier does not override it. A late notice delays the increase rather than cancelling it.

New York gives you 30, 60 or 90 days’ written notice before a rent increase, depending on how long you have lived there. But the tiers only apply once the increase reaches 5% of your current rent. Below that, the statute requires no advance notice at all.

The second thing worth knowing is how the tier is measured, because it is not what most tenants assume — and it works in your favour if you have renewed a lease more than once.

The three tiers, and the 5% threshold

N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c applies when a landlord intends to renew at a rent equal to or greater than 5% above the current rent, or does not intend to renew at all. The periods are:

30 days — you have occupied the unit for less than a year and do not have a lease term of at least a year;
60 days — more than one year but less than two, or a lease term of at least one year but less than two;
90 days — more than two years, or a lease term of at least two years.

An increase under 5% sits outside the section entirely. That does not make it lawful in a rent-stabilised unit, where the Rent Guidelines Board governs, but in a market-rate tenancy it means a 4% rise can arrive with whatever notice your lease requires and no more.

Occupancy counts, not just your current lease

This is the part that is usually got wrong. The tier is set by the cumulative amount of time you have occupied the residence, or the length of the tenancy in each lease — whichever is longer.

So a tenant who has signed three consecutive one-year leases is not a one-year tenant for this purpose. Three years of cumulative occupancy puts them in the 90-day tier, even though no single lease ran longer than twelve months. If you have been handed 60 days and you have lived there more than two years, the notice is short.

What a late notice actually does

Section 226-c answers this directly, and in unusually strong terms. If the landlord fails to give timely notice, your tenancy continues under the existing terms — at the existing rent — from the date they gave actual written notice until the notice period has expired, notwithstanding any provision of a lease or other tenancy agreement to the contrary.

That closing phrase matters. A clause in your lease purporting to shorten the period, or to deem notice given earlier, does not survive it. A short notice does not raise your rent sooner; it delays the increase and leaves you paying the old figure in the meantime.

Caps, where they exist

There is no statewide limit on a market-rate increase. Rent-stabilised units are a separate system: the local Rent Guidelines Board sets the permitted adjustment each year. Stabilisation covers New York City and municipalities that opted into the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974, which include named places in Nassau, Rockland, Westchester and Ulster counties.

New York also has a Good Cause regime enacted in 2024 which bears on increases in covered units. If you think it may apply to you, check its scope against your building rather than assuming either way.

When this needs a lawyer

Get advice if you are in a stabilised unit and the figure exceeds the Board’s adjustment, if the increase followed a complaint or repair request, or if what arrived is a non-renewal rather than an increase. New York has tenant legal services in every borough and county, most of it free.

Sources

N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c; the text of the tiers, the 5% trigger, the cumulative-occupancy measure and the failure provision were read on the New York Senate’s site. Rent stabilisation coverage follows the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 and the National Multifamily Housing Council’s state chart of August 2026. Verified November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice about your tenancy.

New York is one of nine jurisdictions with a statute written about rent increases rather than one borrowed from the law on ending a tenancy — how all 51 compare. Maryland tiers its notice the same way, by the length of the tenancy. For the deposit, see the New York deposit rule.

Not sure which tier you are in?

Upload your lease and we will read the term, renewal and notice clauses and tell you what they commit you to. No account needed, and the preview is free.

Read my lease