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New York month-to-month lease agreement
Written for New York law, checked October 1, 2026 General information, not legal advice
A month-to-month tenancy renews each month until the landlord or the tenant gives notice. Choose month-to-month as the lease type, or set a fixed-term lease to convert to month-to-month when its term ends.
New York rules that apply
- Ending a month-to-month tenancy
- 30, 60 or 90 days
- landlord notice, by length of occupancy or lease term
- N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c(2)N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 232-a
- Rent increase notice
- 30, 60 or 90 days
- for a renewal with an increase of 5% or more
- N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
To end a month-to-month tenancy, you must give the same written notice that applies to a non-renewal: at least 30, 60 or 90 days depending on how long the tenant has lived there or the lease term, whichever is longer. In New York City, the notice must say that you elect to end the tenancy and will start eviction proceedings if the tenant has not left by the date named, and it must be served the way a notice of petition is served. Outside the city, a month-to-month tenant may end the tenancy with notice at least one month before the end of a term.
N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c(2) N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 232-a N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 232-b
More detail (4)
- If you accept rent after a lease of more than one month ends, the tenancy becomes month to month from the day after the term ended, unless you agree otherwise. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 232-c
- A late notice keeps the tenancy going on its existing terms until the full notice period has passed. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c(1)(a)
- Where the Good Cause Eviction Law applies, you may not end or refuse to renew a tenancy without good cause, and the notice must state the lawful basis. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 215 N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c(1)(a) See Good Cause Eviction Law on the New York page
- A tenancy at will or by sufferance ends on written notice of at least 30 days, served on the tenant, on a suitable person at the home or, if neither can be found, posted on the premises. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 228
The lease applies the 30, 60 or 90 day notice to a landlord ending a month-to-month tenancy and the one-month notice for a tenant outside New York City.
Rent increase notice
New York has no statewide rent cap for units outside rent regulation and the Good Cause Eviction Law. If you plan to renew with a rent increase of 5 percent or more, or not to renew at all, give written notice: at least 30 days if the tenant has lived there less than one year and has no lease of at least one year, 60 days for one to two years of occupancy or a lease of one to two years, and 90 days for more than two years of occupancy or a lease of two years or more. Whichever of occupancy or lease term is longer decides the period.
More detail (5)
- If your notice is late, the tenancy continues on its existing terms from the day you gave actual written notice until the full notice period has passed. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c(1)(a)
- The notice must append or contain the Good Cause Eviction Law notice, stating whether the unit is covered and, for a covered unit, the lawful basis for a non-renewal or the reason for an increase above the local rent standard. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c(1)(a) N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 231-c
- Where the Good Cause Eviction Law applies, an increase above the local rent standard in a calendar year is presumed unreasonable, and nonpayment of an unreasonable increase is not grounds for eviction. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 216(1)(a) N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 211(8) See Good Cause Eviction Law on the New York page
- Offering a renewal at an unreasonable increase in retaliation for a tenant's complaint is unlawful retaliation. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 223-b(2)
- A cooperative corporation need not give this notice to a tenant who is a shareholder of the cooperative. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c(1)(b)
The lease sets out the 30, 60 and 90 day notice ladder, says the Good Cause notice is attached and states that late notice keeps the tenancy running on its existing terms.