Tenant Rights — New York
Each section below summarizes a tenant-protective state legal regime applicable in New York. Citations link to the underlying statute or regulation in the corpus where available, or to the official primary source otherwise.
- state New York — viewing
- federal United States
A tenant in New York is simultaneously protected by every layer above. Local rules add enforcement bodies and (where present) higher floors; state law supplies the substantive cause of action; federal law overlays anti-discrimination, accessibility, VAWA, and SCRA protections that may not be waived by lease.
Habitability
What conditions trigger a habitability claim, how to put the landlord on notice, and the remedies available.
- Warranty Authority
- N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-b
- Rent Abatement Remedy
- Yes
- Repair And Deduct Authority
- Jangla Realty v. Gravagna (Civ. Ct. 1990); HRD Court Rule 2304
- Breach of warranty of habitability rent abatement proportional to value of diminished use plus consequential damages [N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-b]
- Interruption of essential services rent abatement plus consequential damages plus treble damages for willful acts [N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235]
- Condition documented. § 235-b warranty of habitability requires a documented condition.
- Written notice given. Tenant should provide written notice and a reasonable cure period before invoking abatement remedies.
- N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235 (interruption of essential services)
- N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 78 (multiple dwelling repair duty) (not yet ingested)
- N.Y. Mult. Resi. Law § 174 (multiple residence repair duty) (not yet ingested)
- Park West Mgmt. v. Mitchell, 47 N.Y.2d 316 (1979) (warranty of habitability — abatement) (not yet ingested)
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Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)
Federal law independently bars a landlord from providing inferior maintenance, repairs, or services on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.
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Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794; 24 C.F.R. Part 8
Section 504 imposes independent habitability and accessibility duties on any landlord receiving HUD assistance, including Section 8 project-based and public housing.
Applies when is federally assisted housing.
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HUD Housing Quality Standards, 24 C.F.R. § 5.703
HQS is the federal habitability floor for Section 8 voucher and public-housing units regardless of any state law.
Applies when is section 8 voucher or public housing.
Drafter notes
NY warranty of habitability under § 235-b is the strongest in the country — Park West Mgmt. v. Mitchell established proportional rent abatement as the primary remedy. § 235 also covers willful interruption of essential services with treble damages.
Lockout / Illegal Eviction
Self-help eviction is unlawful — the landlord must use court process to recover possession.
- Damages Floor Text
- treble damages for forcible entry/detainer under RPAPL § 853; restoration of possession; attorney's fees
- Criminal Penalty Nyc
- Yes
- Attorneys Fees Recoverable
- Yes
- Unlawful eviction lockout or self help class A misdemeanor plus civil treble damages plus attorneys fees [N.Y. RPAPL § 768; NYC Admin. Code § 26-521]
- Interruption of essential services treble damages plus attorneys fees [N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235; N.Y. RPAPL § 853]
- Lockout type documented. NY RPAPL § 768 requires documented self-help eviction.
- N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235 (interruption of essential services)
- N.Y. RPAPL § 853 (treble damages for forcible detainer) (not yet ingested)
- NYC Admin. Code § 26-521 (NYC unlawful eviction) (not yet ingested)
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Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3617
Self-help eviction or lock-changing tied to a tenant's protected class or fair-housing activity is independently actionable under federal law.
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VAWA, 34 U.S.C. § 12491
VAWA prohibits eviction (including constructive eviction by lockout) of survivors in HUD-covered housing on the basis of incidents of abuse against them.
Applies when is covered housing and survivor.
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SCRA, 50 U.S.C. § 3953
Active-duty servicemembers may not be evicted from rental housing without a court order during their service.
Applies when is servicemember.
Drafter notes
NY criminalizes self-help eviction in NYC under Admin. Code § 26-521 (Class A misdemeanor). RPAPL § 853 provides treble damages for forcible entry / detainer statewide. Self-help is per se unlawful — only judicial process recovers possession.
Repair-and-Deduct
Self-help remedy: repair a defect at the landlord's expense and deduct the cost from rent (within statutory caps).
- Notice Cure Days
- 30
- Deduction Cap Text
- no statutory cap; tenant must show conditions affect habitability and give reasonable notice; rent abatement is the primary remedy under § 235-b. RPAPL Article 7-A allows tenant to seek court-ordered receiver to collect rent and pay for repairs.
- Rpapl 770 Remedy
- Yes
- Landlord failure to remedy after notice rent abatement under section 235 b or RPAPL 770 administrator appointment [N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-b; N.Y. RPAPL Article 7-A]
- Defect documented. Need a documented habitability defect.
- Written notice provided. NY law requires reasonable notice and cure period — typically 30 days.
- Jangla Realty v. Gravagna, 154 Misc. 2d 290 (Civ. Ct. 1990) (repair-and-deduct via warranty of habitability) (not yet ingested)
- N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-b (warranty of habitability)
- N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 302-a (rent withholding for failure to obtain rent-impairing condition certificate) (not yet ingested)
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Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794
Section 504 obliges federally-assisted landlords to make and pay for reasonable accessibility modifications.
Applies when is federally assisted housing.
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HUD Housing Quality Standards, 24 C.F.R. § 5.703
HQS is the federal repair and maintenance baseline for HUD-assisted units.
Applies when is section 8 voucher or public housing.
Drafter notes
NY does not have a flat repair-and-deduct cap; the primary remedy is rent abatement under § 235-b. RPAPL Article 7-A (§§ 770-783) allows tenant to seek court-appointed administrator who collects rent and pays for repairs in seriously deficient buildings (1/3 of dwellings affected by violation).
Retaliation
Protection against landlord retaliation for reporting violations, joining a tenants' union, or asserting your rights.
- Presumption Window Months
- 12
- Attorneys Fees Recoverable
- Yes
- Eviction or increase after protected activity presumption of retaliation plus actual damages plus attorneys fees [N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 223-b]
- Harassment of tenant civil penalty up to 10000 plus compensatory damages plus punitive damages [NYC Admin. Code § 27-2005(d)]
- Protected activity documented. NY § 223-b protects good-faith complaints, organizing, and assertion of rights.
- Within one year window. HSTPA expanded the § 223-b presumption window to 12 months.
- N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-d (harassment of rent-regulated tenants)
- NYC Admin. Code § 27-2004 (NYC harassment of tenants) (not yet ingested)
- NYC Admin. Code § 27-2005 (NYC harassment penalties) (not yet ingested)
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Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3617
§ 3617 independently prohibits coercion, intimidation, threats, or interference with any tenant who has exercised or assisted others in exercising fair-housing rights — including reporting code violations or organizing.
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VAWA, 34 U.S.C. § 12491(b)(3)
VAWA bars retaliatory eviction or rent action against survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in HUD-covered housing.
Applies when is covered housing and survivor.
Drafter notes
Post-HSTPA 2019, NY § 223-b retaliation presumption window is 12 months. NYC has parallel anti-harassment provisions in Admin. Code § 27-2004/2005 with civil penalty up to $10,000.
Security Deposit
How quickly the landlord must return the deposit, what they may deduct, and the multiplier on damages if they violate the rule.
- Max Deposit Months
- 1
- Return Window Days
- 14
- Itemization Required
- Yes
- Interest Required Market Rate
- No
- Attorneys Fees Recoverable
- No
- Failure to return within 14 days forfeiture of deposit plus actual damages [N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)]
- Tenancy ended. NY § 7-108 governs return after tenancy ends.
- Return window expired. Post-HSTPA NY law requires return within 14 days of tenancy termination.
- N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-103 (deposit must be held in trust, separate account) (not yet ingested)
- N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108 (return procedure post-HSTPA 2019) (not yet ingested)
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Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604
A landlord may not condition the size, retention, or accounting of a security deposit on a tenant's protected class.
Drafter notes
HSTPA 2019 capped NY security deposits at one month's rent and shortened return to 14 days. § 7-108(1-a) provides forfeiture of deposit if landlord doesn't comply with itemization within 14 days.
Source of Income Discrimination
Protection against discrimination based on Section 8 vouchers, public assistance, or other lawful sources of income.
- Agency Complaint Window Days
- 365
- Private Court Window Years
- 3
- Attorneys Fees Recoverable
- Yes
- Refusal to accept section 8 voucher or other lawful source actual damages plus civil penalty plus compensatory plus attorneys fees [N.Y. Exec. Law § 297]
- Income source documented. NY § 296(5) prohibits discrimination based on lawful source of income — Section 8, FEPS, public assistance, SSI, SSDI, etc.
- Discriminatory act documented. Need a documented discriminatory act.
- Within agency window. NYS Division of Human Rights complaint window is 1 year.
- N.Y. Exec. Law § 297 (Division of Human Rights complaint procedure)
- NYC Admin. Code § 8-107(5) (NYC Human Rights Law — broader source of income) (not yet ingested)
- NYS Div. of Human Rights v. WIBO (2019) — established source of income enforcement (not yet ingested)
-
Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604 (disparate impact)
Although the FHA does not list source of income as a protected class, source-of-income exclusions can be challenged under FHA disparate-impact theory where they fall disproportionately on a protected class.
Drafter notes
NY State added source-of-income protection to Executive Law § 296 in 2019. NYC Admin. Code § 8-107(5) provides parallel and broader protection enforced by NYC Commission on Human Rights.