Free New York Lease Termination Letter Template
A lease termination letter sets out that a tenancy is ending and names the day it stops. Answer a few simple questions and download the finished letter.
- Download as PDF and Word
- E-sign included
What Is a New York Lease Termination Letter, and When Do You Need One?
A New York lease termination letter is the written notice a landlord gives when a tenancy will not be renewed, under Real Property Law section 226-c. The 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act rebuilt these rules. How long the tenant has lived in the unit now sets the notice period.
What New York Requires From a Landlord
One section carries the notice tiers, and it also controls what happens when notice comes late.
When the Section Applies
Section 226-c, subdivision 1 sets the trigger. Whenever a landlord intends to offer a renewal with a rent increase equal to or greater than five percent above the current rent, or does not intend to renew the tenancy, the landlord provides written notice as subdivision 2 requires.
The Notice Tiers
Subdivision 2 measures the period against the cumulative amount of time the tenant has occupied the residence, or the length of the tenancy in each lease, whichever is longer. Under 30 days applies where the tenant has occupied for less than one year without a lease term of at least a year; 60 days where occupancy runs more than one year but less than two, or the lease term is at least one year but less than two; and 90 days where occupancy exceeds two years or the lease term is at least two years. These tiers can change, so confirm the current section before you count.
Late Notice Does Not End the Tenancy
Subdivision 1 answers that squarely. Where a landlord fails to give timely notice, the occupant’s lawful tenancy continues under the existing terms from the date the landlord gave actual written notice until the notice period has expired, notwithstanding any lease provision to the contrary.
What Decides Your New York Notice Period?
Time in the unit, not the calendar month. Subdivision 2 keys the tier to how long the tenant has occupied the residence or how long the lease runs, taking whichever of those is longer.
That wording rewards checking the whole history. Because occupancy is cumulative, a tenant who has renewed twice may sit in the 90-day tier even though the current lease runs a single year.
Work out the move-in date before choosing a tier. Getting it wrong does not simply shorten the notice; under subdivision 1 the tenancy carries on under its existing terms until a correct period has run.
How to Send Your New York Notice
A New York lease termination letter turns on the tenant’s tenure.
- Confirm whether the landlord is declining to renew or raising rent by five percent or more.
- Add up cumulative occupancy and compare it with the lease term.
- Take the longer of the two and apply the 30, 60 or 90-day tier.
- Append or include the notice section 231-c requires.
- Deliver the notice and keep proof of the date.
What Your New York Letter Should Contain
Section 226-c adds a required attachment, which makes the contents more prescribed than in most states.
- The address of the dwelling unit
- The names of the landlord and the tenant
- The date the tenancy ends
- The tier relied on, with the occupancy or lease length behind it
- The section 231-c notice, appended or contained in the letter
- Signature and date
That attachment carries real content. The section 231-c notice states whether the unit is or is not subject to article six-A of the chapter, the good cause eviction law, and where the unit is exempt it states why. Where a landlord is not renewing a covered unit, it states the lawful basis for the non-renewal, and where the landlord is raising rent on a covered unit above the applicable local rent standard, it gives the justification.
One more provision is worth knowing. Under section 232-c, a tenant who stays past the end of a lease becomes a month-to-month tenant where the landlord accepts a rent payment.
