New York notice to pay rent or quit

State form

• The New York State Unified Court System publishes a free statewide Written Demand for Past Due Rent form that tells the tenant to pay the total owed or move out within 14 days after service.¹
• The New York court form lists the rent owed month by month, gives the total, and names every tenant, under-tenant and other person in possession.¹
• Since the 2024 Good Cause Eviction Law, New York Section 711 requires the 14-day demand to include or attach the Real Property Law Section 231-c notice saying whether the home is covered by that law and, if exempt, why.²
• New York Real Property Law Section 231-c spells out the notice word for word, starting with a yes-or-no question on Good Cause coverage and a checklist of exemptions such as a town outside New York City that has not opted in.⁵

Signing

• The New York court system’s rent demand form is signed by the landlord or the landlord’s agent, with the printed name, address, phone and email.¹

Deadlines

• New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Section 711 allows a nonpayment case only after a written rent demand gives the tenant at least 14 days to pay or give up possession.²
• Under New York General Construction Law Section 20, a period of days counts calendar days and leaves out the day it is counted from.⁶
• New York General Construction Law Section 25-a lets an act due on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday be done on the next business day.⁷
• A New York court dismissed a nonpayment case in 2025 because the rent demand cut off the 14th day at 9 a.m., leaving the tenants less than 14 full calendar days after the day of service.³
• New York Real Property Law Section 235-e requires a landlord who has not received rent within five days of the lease due date to send the tenant a written notice of the missed payment by certified mail.⁸

Delivering the notice

• New York Section 711 has the rent demand served the way Section 735 prescribes: handed to the tenant, or left with a person of suitable age who lives or works at the property.⁹
• When nobody suitable can be reached, New York Section 735 allows affixing the papers in a conspicuous place or slipping them under the entrance door.⁹
• After leaving the papers with another person or at the door, New York Section 735 adds a mailing within one day by both certified or registered mail and regular first-class mail.⁹
• The New York courts’ landlord guide says the landlord cannot serve the written demand personally; an adult over 18 who is not a party must do it.⁴

Where it is filed

• If a New York tenant has not paid within the 14 days, the landlord can file a nonpayment eviction case, attaching the written demand and proof that each tenant was served.⁴

Law

• In a New York home covered by the Good Cause Eviction Law, unpaid rent is good cause for eviction unless the arrears come from an unreasonable rent increase.¹⁰
• The New York Attorney General lists New York City and opt-in cities such as Albany, Ithaca, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Rochester and Binghamton as covered by the Good Cause Eviction Law.¹¹
• For the Good Cause Eviction Law, New York defines a landlord broadly as any owner, lessor, sublessor or other person entitled to receive rent, or an agent of one.¹²
• A New York landlord who skips the five-day certified-mail late notice gives the tenant an affirmative defense in an eviction case for unpaid rent.⁸

• Property address, unit and county
• The exact rent past due and the rental periods it covers
• Who takes the rent, where, and the hours for paying in person
• Whether the property has a federally backed mortgage or a federal housing program

It does not evict anyone. Only a court can order a tenant out; this notice is the step that usually comes before filing.