A plain-English map of your rights as a NYC renter — repairs and habitability, rent increases and stabilization, your security deposit, eviction protections, and where to get help. Links to in-depth guides for each topic.
How to Break Your Lease in NYC Legally
Break a NYC lease penalty-free for military, domestic violence, or a care move — plus the duty-to-mitigate rule that cuts what you owe if none apply.
Renting Month-to-Month in NYC: Your Rights When There's No Lease
Month-to-month tenants in NYC still get protections — 30/60/90-day notice before a rent hike or move-out, by how long you’ve lived there.
Your Building Just Sold. Here's What Actually Changes for You as a Tenant
When your NYC building sells, your lease transfers with it and is honored to its term — a sale alone can’t reset your rent or evict you. What changes.
Behind on Rent in NYC? Here's How the Eviction Process Actually Works — and Where the Off-Ramps Are
Eviction in NYC is a process, not an event — no lockout, a 14-day rent demand, then Housing Court, often 400+ days. Most qualify for a free lawyer.
The Quiet Voucher Change That Could Shrink Your Affordable-Housing Options in 2026
Augmented CityFHEPS — the higher-rent voucher for HPD placements — is shrinking. Current tenants are grandfathered; it narrows options for new placements.
Cooling Centers, Blackouts, and Heat Emergencies: What NYC Tenants Need to Know This Summer
The city has issued its extreme-heat readiness PSA for summer 2026. Here's the practical toolkit for tenants: free cooling centers, blackout rights, and the assistance programs most renters don't know exist.
Bedbugs, Roaches, Rats: Your Landlord's Legal Duty to Get Rid of Them
In NYC, pest control is your landlord’s legal duty — an infestation violates the warranty of habitability. What the law requires and how to force action.
Your Building's Scaffolding Has Been Up for Years. The City Wants It Down
NYC has more than 8,500 sidewalk sheds — some up over five years. A renewed push aims to tear them down. What is happening and what tenants can do.
New Flood Disclosure Law: What Your Landlord Must Tell You Before You Sign
NY law (§231-B) now requires landlords to disclose a rental’s flood risk and history in the lease. What you’re entitled to know before you sign.
NYC's Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants Is Back. What It Can Do for You
Mayor Mamdani reinstated the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants (MOPT) on day one — a coordination body, not a hotline. What it does and how to use it.
Your Landlord Can't Retaliate Against You for Complaining. Here's How to Prove It
Under NY law (RPL §223-b) your landlord can’t punish you for a 311 complaint or organizing — the law presumes retaliation for a year. How to prove it.
What Is the Warranty of Habitability — and How to Use It Against Your Landlord
Under NY Real Property Law §235-b, every lease guarantees a livable home — heat, no mold, no pests. How to use it against your landlord.
Do NYC Landlords Have to Provide Air Conditioning? What the New Law Requires
A new NYC law (Int 994) will require landlords to provide a cooling unit on request — but not until 2030. What is in effect now and what is coming.
NYC Eviction Process in 2026: Housing Court, Free Lawyers, and Your Rights
NYC carried out more than 19,000 evictions in 2025 — a seven-year high — and 2026 is tracking higher. Half of tenants go to court without a lawyer.
How to File a DHCR Service Reduction Complaint When Your Landlord Cuts Building Services
If your landlord cuts a service that came with your rent-stabilized apartment — doorman, laundry, parking — file DHCR form RA-81 to get your rent lowered.
NYC Lead Paint Laws: What Tenants with Children Need to Know
NYC landlords must test for and fix lead paint where a child under six lives (Local Law 31). How it works and how to get a free HPD inspection via 311.
NYC Roommate Law and Subletting: What Tenants Are Allowed to Do
NY’s Roommate Law (RPL §235-f) lets you take one roommate whatever your lease says — plus the rent-stabilized share rule most tenants never hear about.
How to Use Housing Court to Get Your Landlord to Make Repairs: The HP Action
An HP Action is a Housing Court case that forces your landlord to make repairs — $45 (waivable), three forms, no lawyer. When to use it and how to file.
No Heat or Hot Water in Your NYC Apartment? The Exact Temperatures Your Landlord Owes You (2026)
NYC heat season runs October 1 – May 31, but hot water is required at 120°F year-round. The exact temperatures landlords must maintain, what to do when there's no hot water, and how to check a building's record before you sign.