Rent Increases

15.1 Rent Increases and the Good Cause Eviction Law

In April 2024, New York State passed the Good Cause Eviction Law. This law applies in New York City and in any other town, village, or city that has passed a local law to “opt-in” to its protections.

For rental units covered by this law, a rent increase is considered “presumptively unreasonable” if it is greater than the lower of 5% + the local Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 10%.

This is not a hard cap on rent. It is a “rebuttable presumption,” which means it shifts the burden of proof in an eviction proceeding.

• If a landlord raises the rent by more than this “local rent standard,” a tenant can challenge it in court as a defense in a non-payment eviction case.
• The landlord must then prove to the judge that the higher rent increase is “reasonable.” The landlord can justify the increase by providing evidence of significant costs, such as major repairs or improvements, or sharp increases in property taxes or operating costs.

• Exemptions from the Good Cause Eviction Law

This law does not apply to all rental units. Major exemptions include:

• Small Landlords: Landlords who own 10 or fewer rental units in total in New York State. (Note: Localities that opt-in can change this number; for example, some have set the limit lower).
• Owner-Occupied Buildings: Units in buildings with 10 or fewer units where the owner also lives in the building.
• New Construction: Units in buildings that received their certificate of occupancy on or after January 1, 2009. This exemption lasts for 30 years.
• High-Rent Units: Apartments with a monthly rent that is more than 245% of the local Fair Market Rent.
• Co-ops and Condos: Apartments owned as a condominium or cooperative.
• Regulated Housing: Units that are already subject to other forms of rent regulation (like rent stabilization or rent control) or are income-restricted (like public housing or Section 8).
• Sublets: Units that are sublet, where the original tenant (the sublessor) plans to return and occupy the unit.
• Employment-Related Housing: Units where occupancy is tied to employment (like a superintendent’s apartment) and that employment is being lawfully terminated.
• Institutional Housing: Dormitories, units within hospitals or religious facilities, and various types of assisted living or senior care residences.
• Other Specific Types: The law also exempts manufactured homes, seasonal-use dwellings, and hotel rooms.

15.2 Required Notice for Rent Increases (Unregulated Tenants)

For tenants living in units that are not subject to rent stabilization or the Good Cause Eviction Law, there is no cap on the amount a landlord can increase the rent.

However, if a landlord intends to increase the rent by 5% or more, or if the landlord intends not to renew the tenancy, they must provide the tenant with advanced written notice. The amount of notice required depends on the tenant’s length of occupancy or the length of their lease, whichever is longer:

• Occupancy of less than one year (or a lease for less than one year): Landlord must provide 30 days’ notice.
• Occupancy of more than one year but less than two years (or a lease of at least one year but less than two years): Landlord must provide 60 days’ notice.
• Occupancy of more than two years (or a lease of at least two years): Landlord must provide 90 days’ notice.

If a landlord fails to provide this required notice, the tenancy continues under the existing terms until the notice period has expired. These rights are established under New York Real Property Law § 226-C.

15.3 Rent Increases for Manufactured Home Tenants

Generally, under New York Real Property Law, “Manufactured Homes” include structures that are: 1. eight or more feet in width or forty or more feet in length, 2. built on a permanent chassis, and 3. designed to be used as a dwelling when connected to required utilities. RPL § 233a(4). Manufactured Home Parks are contiguous parcels of privately owned land that accommodate at least three Manufactured Homes for year-round living. RPL § 233a(3). 

Rent for manufactured home park residents may not be increased more than once in any year. Owners of manufactured home parks may only increase rent up to 3% yearly, unless justified by increases in operating expenses, property taxes, or costs related to capital improvements. RPL § 233-b(2)3. A manufactured park owner may, however, raise rent up to 6% if there has been an increase in operating expenses and property taxes, but a tenant may challenge this increase in court within ninety days of the proposed increase. Rent increases cannot exceed 6% above the rent since the current rate became effective, except upon the approval of a temporary hardship application by the court. A manufactured park owner may not increase rent beyond 6% without a “temporary hardship application” approved by the court and served on tenants. RPL § 233-b(6)(a).  

A manufactured park owner may not evict a tenant in retaliation for good faith complaints to regulatory authorities charged with regulating premises used for dwelling purposes. RPL § 233(n)(1)(a). Violations can carry up to a $1500 civil penalty. RPL § 233(v)(3). For example, in People ex rel. Higgins v Peranzo, a court held without evidentiary hearing that a notice to quit served shortly after a complaint of a septic problem to regulatory authorities constituted retaliation. 179 A.D.2d 871 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dep’t 1992). The court held that the timing of the notice to quit and the poor basis for eviction dictated the imposition of civil penalties on the landlord. Id. at 874.