How Much Notice Do I Give to My Landlord to Renew or Not Renew My Apartment Lease?
Sometimes you don’t have to even worry about providing notice to renew (or not renew) your lease with your landlord. The landlord may reach out to you first.
If you have been a good tenant and have enjoyed living in an apartment, the landlord will sometimes offer you a lease renewal without you even lifting a finger. So you may not even have to talk to your landlord about renewing your lease. The landlord may broach the subject with you months before you lease ends.
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Additionally, if you live in a rent-stabilized apartment, the landlord has almost no other choice but to offer you a lease renewal. In fact, according to the New York Stabilization Code, for tenants living in rent-stabilized apartments, a landlord should offer renewal terms no less than 90 days and no more than 150 days before the lease ends. So again, you won’t have to worry much about giving your landlord notice to renew or not renew in this scenario.
However, you should understand the protocol and what the standard leases say about notice to renew or not renew in case you don’t hear from your landlord.
When should I give notice to renew or not renew?
Between 30 and 60 days before the lease ends is usually when the landlord and tenant will make a decision about whether to renew or not renew the rental lease. However, you should make sure there is no deadline about notice to renew in your lease.
Usually you have to notify the landlord about renewing your rental lease no less than 30 days before your lease contract ends. In fact, this explains why there are so many apartments that hit the market 30 days before their start dates. This is because tenants are giving notice that they are NOT renewing, but waiting until the last possible moment.
The best way to know for sure when to approach the landlord is to review the lease you signed. See if there are any guidelines on when you should tell the landlord about your required notice to renew. If you plan to negotiate terms for lease renewal, you might want to start early. For example, it would be in your best interest to reach out to the landlord at least 2-3 months before the lease ends if you plan on having a lengthy negotiation, and still want time to find something else if need be. (By the way, here are some tips on how to negotiate lease renewal with your landlord)
Tenants often make the mistake of waiting until the last minute to decide whether they are going to renew or not. Most importantly, if you wait too long and the landlord doesn’t hear from you in time, the landlord might offer your apartment to someone else.
For more NYC rental tips, please go to frele.com/learn.
This article was written by:
Phil Horigan, NYC Real Estate Veteran
Founder, Frēlē, the free and honest NYC rental marketplace
Producer, Phil’s NYC Rental Tips [YouTube Channel]
Blogger: flowfreely.com
Instagram: @philiphorigan
Phil has been a licensed NYC real estate agent since 2004 working for some of the top real estate brokerage firms in the industry. He founded Leasebreak.com in 2013, and Frēlē in 2017. Frēlē and Leasebreak are free and transparent rental marketplaces to search for or post apartments for rent in NYC
Go to frele.com to search for NYC apartments (free service).