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Tenant Repair Laws in New York

In New York, a court may stay a nonpayment eviction when an agency has cited a violation or the court finds a dangerous condition, as long as the tenant deposits the rent due with the court clerk.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

New York at a glance

Rent withholding
Court stay, rent paid into court
The stay requires depositing rent with the clerk; it can be lifted if rent is not deposited within 5 days of its due date.

Sources

Last checked

The rules in New York

Can a tenant withhold rent or pay it into escrow for repairs in New York?

Court stay, rent paid into court. Rent withholding in New York: court stay, rent paid into court. The stay requires depositing rent with the clerk; it can be lifted if rent is not deposited within 5 days of its due date.

Where do the New York tenant repair laws come from?

The rules above come from N.Y. RPAPL 755. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

What this means in practice

Give notice in writing and keep a copy. Tenant repair remedies usually start running only after the landlord has received notice of the problem, and a dated letter or email is the easiest way to prove when that happened.

Document the condition before and after. Photos, videos, inspection reports from a local code office and receipts for any repair work help show that the problem was serious and that any amount deducted or withheld matches the actual cost.

Stay current on everything else. Repair remedies generally protect only tenants who are not otherwise behind on rent and who did not cause the damage, and using a remedy the state does not allow can be treated as nonpayment of rent and lead to an eviction case.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.