Skip to main content
Fulltext search
FILTER RESULTS BY:
RECOMMENDED IN RENT
Moving to NYC after college? Here's how to find a rental apartment
RECOMMENDED IN BUY
How buying real estate in NYC is unlike anywhere else
RECOMMENDED IN SELL
A guide to using a no-fee renovation loan from a NYC real estate firm
RECOMMENDED IN IMPROVE
How to make your NYC renovation more pet-friendly
BEST REAL ESTATE WEBSITE!
National Association of Real Estate Editors
BEST REAL ESTATE WEBSITE! National Association of Real Estate Editors
Brick Underground
Social Links
follow:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Flipboard
  • search
Brick Underground
☰ Brick Underground
Brick Underground
Brick Underground
☰
Brick Underground
  • Buy
    • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
    A rendering of the roofdeck at 55 Broad Street.
    Rent
    Housing lottery launches for 143 apartments in the Financial District
    Aerial panoramic view of Red Hook, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
    Sales Market
    24 NYC neighborhoods where median prices more than doubled in the past decade
    431 West 54th Street is a co-op building that allows subletting.
    Investing
    Want to buy an investment apartment to rent out? Here's what you need to know
  • Rent
    • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
    Young woman using laptop at new apartment, with moving boxes around.
    Roommates + Landlords
    Didn't get your security deposit returned in NYC? A new chatbot can help
    A rendering of the six-story building in Park Slope.
    Affordable Housing
    Housing lottery launches for 45 rent-stabilized units in Park Slope
    Laura and her dog Jack
    Rent
    Why I moved to NYC from Brazil: I relocated for work and reunited with friends I made 15 years ago
  • Sell
    • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
    Aerial view of downtown Brooklyn
    Sell
    Median sales price in Brooklyn climbs to $995,000 in the second quarter
    Downtown New York City
    Sell
    Manhattan deals rose to highest level in nearly two years, defying national trends
    new condo building and older co-op buildings in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
    Sell
    Brooklyn median price nears $1 million but the spring market is a question mark
  • Live
    • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
    FlatRate moving brick underground
    Live
    How to troubleshoot your move in advance
    Sponsored By flatrate
    Distressed woman sitting in her apartment
    Troubleshooting
    Ask Altagracia: My live-in partner is abusive. How can I get out of my lease?
    Sponsored By Outerbridge Law P.C.
    NYC apartment buildings with fire escapes
    Neighborhood Intel
    Can you sit on a fire escape in NYC? 5 things to know
  • Improve
    • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide
    mini splits apartments new york city
    Products + Services
    Yes, you can install central AC in your co-op or condo unit. Here's how
    image
    Products + Services
    Take back your deck! How to win the war with mosquitoes and enjoy outdoor living again
    NYC apartment building with AC units
    Products + Services
    My neighbor's dripping AC is driving me crazy. What can I do?
  • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards
    • Finance
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Property Management
    • Structure & Systems
    • Sustainability
    Burned and Boarded Up Windows
    When should your board hire a public adjuster?
    Manhattan GM
    What should we consider when renewing insurance for our building?
    Facade of NYC buildings
    How much is insurance on a NYC co-op or condo building?
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with us
    • Sponsored Content
    • Experts
    FlatRate moving brick underground
    Live
    How to troubleshoot your move in advance
    Sponsored By flatrate
    Distressed woman sitting in her apartment
    Troubleshooting
    Ask Altagracia: My live-in partner is abusive. How can I get out of my lease?
    Sponsored By Outerbridge Law P.C.
    Building facades in New York in winter
    Roommates + Landlords
    Ask Altagracia: I withheld rent due to inadequate heat and I'm being hassled to pay it back. What should I do?
    Sponsored By Outerbridge Law P.C.
  • Brick Report
  • About Us
  • About Us
The subscription service is currently unavailable. Please check again later.
Fulltext search
FILTER RESULTS BY:
New Main menu
  • Buy
    • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
  • Rent
    • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
  • Sell
    • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
  • Live
    • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
  • Improve
    • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide
  • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards
    • Finance
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Property Management
    • Structure & Systems
    • Sustainability
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with us
    • Sponsored Content
    • Experts
  • Brick Report
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertise
  • About Us
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER →
Social Links Footer
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Search
Ask Altagracia [ SPONSORED ]

Ask Sam: I’m renting month-to-month. Can I move out whenever I want? Can my landlord end my lease at any time?

By Himmelstein McConnell Gribben & Joseph LLP  | September 30, 2020 - 12:30PM
image

Under rent reform laws passed by the New York state legislature in 2019, landlords must give advance written notice to tenants, including those renting month-to-month, if they intend to terminate their leases.

iStock

SHARE:
Share to Facebook
Share to Twitter
Print
More...

My lease ended several years ago and my landlord never sent a renewal, but has been accepting my rent each month. When I'm ready to move out, do I need to give 30 days notice or can I give less? Can my landlord end my lease at any time?

When a lease on a New York City rental expires but a tenant continues to occupy the apartment, and the landlord continues to accept rent, that creates a month-to-month tenancy, says Sam Himmelstein, a lawyer with the firm Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph who represents residential and commercial tenants and tenant associations.

"The tenancy is renewed for 30 more days every time the tenant pays another month's rent," Himmelstein says.

A downside of this arrangement is that it can make things a bit precarious for you. As Himmelstein explained in a previous column, landlords can raise the rent on month-to-month leases by whatever amount they choose. A tenant doesn’t have to agree to the increase, but the landlord can terminate the tenancy if they don't. 

On the bright side, your landlord still has to give you notice if he or she wants you out. Under rent reform laws passed by the New York state legislature in 2019, landlords must give advance written notice to tenants, including those renting month-to-month, if they intend to terminate their leases.

If you’ve been in possession of the apartment for less than a year, you’re entitled to 30 days notice. If you’ve been living there for more than a year and less than two years, the landlord must give 60 days notice, and if you’ve been there for longer than two years, 90 days notice.

“The notice has to be served like a court paper,” Himmelstein says. “It must formally terminate the tenancy at the end of a rental period. So if you pay rent on the first of the month, the termination has to fall on the 30th or 31st of the month that’s 30, 60, or 90 days away, depending on how long you’ve lived there.”

Tenants who refuse to move out after their landlords have given them the correct legal notice are subject to a holdover proceeding—that is, a case to evict a tenant for reasons other than nonpayment of rent. 

At the moment, though, housing courts are not processing new eviction cases.

“Notices of holdovers used to specify a date you had to appear in court, but now they say you’ll be notified when to appear,” Himmelstein says. “The courts are probably not going to process these cases until next year. They don’t want people coming in to court because of Covid.”

Keep in mind that if you do get sued by your landlord, even if you don’t have to appear in court right away, you could end up on the tenant blacklist—a database of people involved in a NYC housing court case. 

If you’re ready to move out, on the other hand, you’re not obligated to give the same notice to your landlord, although it might be in your best interests to do so.

"There's no reciprocal obligation from the tenant unless there is something in the lease that requires it," Himmelstein says. "When a lease expires, it doesn't get renewed in terms of length, but substantive terms still project into the monthly tenancy." 

This means that certain stipulations set forth in your lease still apply. If your landlord forbids pets, for instance, you can't now adopt a puppy just because the lease has expired. And if the lease included a clause requiring you to give 30 days notice before moving out, that too is still binding.

"But those clauses are usually not in leases, because landlords don't want to give you the option of terminating early during the term of the lease," Himmelstein says. This means that once your lease expires, you likely can move out whenever you want, without giving your landlord a month's notice. 

"You might want to do it anyway, as a matter of courtesy if you have a good relationship with the landlord, so he or she can start planning to re-rent and hire a broker," Himmelstein says. 

This would be especially useful to your landlord now, given that there may be additional challenges in finding new tenants in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. It might also be a good idea to give your landlord a heads up if you think you might need a recommendation someday when you're applying for another apartment. 

Related: 

Ask Sam: I had to stop paying rent. What will happen next? (sponsored) 

Ask Sam: Can my landlord kick me out of my apartment so his family can move in? (sponsored)

Ask Sam: How do I protect myself from a landlord's illegal eviction attempts? (sponsored) 

Ask Sam: How much notice do I have to give my landlord to leave a rent-stabilized apartment? (sponsored)

Read all the Ask a Renters' Rights Lawyer columns here.


Sam Himmelstein, Esq. represents NYC tenants and tenant associations in disputes over evictions, rent increases, rental conversions, rent stabilization law, lease buyouts, and many other issues. He is a partner at Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph in Manhattan. To submit a question for this column, click here. To ask about a legal consultation, email Sam or call (212) 349-3000.

Alanna Schubach

Alanna Schubach

Contributing writer

Contributing editor Alanna Schubach has over a decade of experience as a New York City-based freelance journalist.

SEE MORE BY Alanna Schubach »
Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics:

Ask Altagracia landlords leases Rent rent laws tenants' rights
SHARE
TWEET
BRICK’S PICKS
NYC apartment building with AC units
My neighbor's dripping AC is driving me crazy. What can I do?
Historic brick facades of NYC apartment buildings
Getting overcharged by a landlord? Here’s how the Tenant Protection Unit helps rent-stabilized tenants
Apartment buildings in Soho
New Rent Guidelines Board report justifies a rent freeze, tenant advocates claim
Brooklyn apartment buildings
Understanding net effective rent: Here's how to calculate your real monthly rent
image
How much should you renovate your NYC apartment or house before selling?
Council Member Shahana Hanif hold press conference before the City Council vote on Arrow Linen spot rezoning.
City Council signs off on 10-story towers for Arrow Linen site
Follow Brick on Instagram
@brickunderground | #brickunderground
Brick UndergroundBRICK UNDERGROUNDREAL LIFE. REAL ESTATE. REAL NEW YORK.
Social Links Footer
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Search
Main menu footer
  • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
  • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
  • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
  • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
  • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide

Get more news you can actually use...

Email Address

Delivered to your inbox weekly - for free.

*By signing up you agree to receive occasional emails on behalf of our sponsors

Footer Menu
  • About Us
  • Advertise

Copyright 2009-2024 by BND Ventures Inc | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Ad Choices | Login