New York 14-Day Notice to Pay or Quit (RPAPL § 711(2))

Before you can even serve the notice, New York imposes a waiting period: you cannot serve the 14-day rent demand until at least 5 days after the rent was due and unpaid. This is a statutory protection under RPAPL, not just a lease term.

If rent is due on the 1st and you serve the notice on the 2nd, the notice is premature and defective. Earliest you can serve: the 6th of the month.

Under RPAPL § 711(2), a valid New York 14-day notice must state:

• Tenant's full legal name(s)
• Property address including unit number
• The specific rent installments unpaid and the amounts owed
• The lease date and monthly rent amount
• Acceptable payment methods (personal check, certified check, money order, electronic transfer — specify which apply)
• A statement that the tenant must pay in full or vacate within 14 days
• Date of service

The notice must demand the exact amount owed — not a rounded figure, not an estimate. If the amount is wrong, the notice is defective.

New York's Good Cause Eviction Law (RPL § 216), effective April 2024, applies to most residential rental units statewide. For covered units, landlords must have good cause to evict — non-payment of rent qualifies, but the notice must not be pretextual.

More practically: if your property is covered by Good Cause and you've served a rent increase of more than 10% (or 5% + CPI), the tenant may challenge the eviction as retaliatory. NoticeGen checks Good Cause coverage for your property address.

NYC properties have additional protections under rent stabilization and rent control — if your unit is regulated, additional DHCR requirements may apply before you can file.

New York's service rules are strict — and in NYC, there's an additional rule: the landlord cannot personally serve eviction papers. Service must be performed by someone 18 or older who is not a party to the case.

Permitted methods under RPAPL § 735:

1. Personal delivery — hand directly to the tenant (by a non-party, 18+)
2. Substituted service — deliver to a person of suitable age and discretion at the premises, plus mail a copy the same day
3. Nail and mail — after two failed attempts at personal or substituted service, affix to the door and mail a copy by certified and first-class mail

After nail-and-mail service, you must file an affidavit of service with the court before proceeding. NoticeGen's proof of service affidavit is pre-formatted for New York's requirements.

New York counts calendar days. If you serve the notice on June 1, the tenant's deadline is June 15 (14 days later). If the last day falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, it extends to the next business day.

If the tenant pays in full within the 14-day period, the eviction ends. You must accept full payment.

If the tenant does not pay, you may file a non-payment petition in Housing Court (NYC) or the local City/Town/Village Court (outside NYC). You'll need the original notice and your affidavit of service at filing.