Rent-Stabilized Lease Renewals: Owner Rules

In New York City, you must offer a rent-stabilized tenant a renewal lease on DHCR form RTP-8, sent by mail or delivered in person, no more than 150 days and no fewer than 90 days before the current lease expires. The tenant then has 60 days to choose a one- or two-year term, sign and return it, and you have 30 days to send back a fully signed copy with the NYC Lease Rider.

Miss the window and you lose control of the start date and, often, part of the increase. This guide walks through the deadlines, what goes on the form, and the mistakes that lead to complaints with NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR, also called DHCR).

The renewal timeline, counted back from expiration

HCR Fact Sheet #4 sets the process for New York City. Outside the city (Nassau, Westchester, Rockland and some other areas under the Emergency Tenant Protection Act), the window is 120 to 90 days, the form is RTP-8 ETPA, and it must be signed and sent by certified mail. The rest of this guide covers NYC.

1. 150 days before expiration

   Window opens

   The earliest date you can serve the RTP-8. An offer served earlier is outside the window.

2. 150 to 90 days before

   Serve the RTP-8 and the NYC Lease Rider

   Mail or hand-deliver at least two completed copies to the tenant in occupancy, with Part A filled out to show how the new rent was computed.

3. 90 days before expiration

   Window closes

   This is also the last moment to serve a written notice of non-renewal if you have a lawful ground not to renew.

4. Within 60 days of service

   Tenant chooses a term, signs Part B and returns all copies

   If the tenant does not accept within 60 days, Fact Sheet #4 says you may refuse to renew and may go to court after the current lease expires.

5. Within 30 days of getting the signed form

   Return a fully executed copy

   Sign Part B and send the tenant the fully signed RTP-8 plus the DHCR NYC Lease Rider. Service of the executed form makes the renewal binding.

6. Day after expiration

   New lease term begins

   A renewal should start no earlier than the expiration date of the current lease and cannot begin retroactively.

Example windows for common expiration dates

These dates are simple day counts. Leave yourself margin: serve a week or two inside the window and keep proof of mailing or a signed delivery receipt. The landlord compliance calendar can help you track renewal dates across units.

Filling out the RTP-8

The form is both the offer and, once signed by both sides, the lease itself. Part A is yours. Getting it right avoids most disputes.

1. 1

   Item 1: expiration date of the current lease

   Use the date on the lease being renewed, not the move-in date.
2. 2

   Item 2: the rent computation (Columns A to F)

   Legal rent on September 30 before the renewal start date, the guideline percentage, any guideline supplement, any other lawful increase effective after September 30 (such as an approved MCI), and the new legal rent, for both the 1-year and 2-year options.
3. 3

   Guideline not yet known? Check the box

   If the RGB has not set the rate when you make the offer, check the box in Column C and enter the current guideline. It is subject to adjustment when the new order is issued.
4. 4

   Items 3 to 6: deposit, separate charges, preferential rent

   Show any additional security deposit for each term, separate charges (air conditioner, appliances, the 421-a 2.2% charge where it applies), and in item 5 any different (preferential) rent actually being charged.
5. 5

   Items 9 and 10: SCRIE/DRIE and sprinklers

   State any SCRIE or DRIE reduced rent the tenant is entitled to, and whether the apartment has an operative sprinkler system and when it was last maintained and inspected.
6. 6

   Attach the NYC Lease Rider and any lawful new provisions

   Attach the DHCR New York City Lease Rider for Rent Stabilized Tenants. Any change from the expiring lease must be one required by law and must be attached in writing.

Preferential rents at renewal

If the tenant pays a preferential rent (lower than the legal regulated rent), the RTP-8 instructions say tenants paying a preferential rent on or after June 14, 2019 keep it for the life of the tenancy. Guideline increases and other lawful increases are applied to the preferential rent, not the legal rent. The full legal rent can be charged only after a vacancy. Use the preferential rent calculator to check your numbers, and see preferential rent rules after 2019.

What happens if you miss the window

A late offer is still an offer, but the tenant gets the better deal. According to the RTP-8 owner instructions and Fact Sheet #4:

• The tenant picks the start date: either the date the renewal would have started with a timely offer, or the first rent payment date at least 90 days after you actually make the offer.
• The increase cannot start early: the higher rent does not begin before the first rent payment date that is at least 90 days after the offer, and you cannot collect a retroactive increase.
• The lower guideline wins: Fact Sheet #4’s worked example says the tenant pays the lower of the two possible guideline rates. The RTP-8 says the rate can be no greater than the one in effect when the timely lease would have started.

With a 0% guideline for leases starting October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, a late offer this year can easily wipe out an increase you were counting on from the prior order. See the 2026 rent freeze for landlords.

Not renewing: the notice must also go out in the window

Fact Sheet #4 lists the main reasons an owner may refuse to renew a stabilized lease:

• The owner or an immediate family member needs the apartment as a personal primary residence (special rules apply if the tenant is a senior citizen or has a disability).
• The apartment is not the tenant’s primary residence.
• The owner wants to take the apartment off the rental market, for demolition or another purpose allowed by law.

If you rely on one of these, you must give the tenant written notice of non-renewal within the same 150-to-90-day window. Fact Sheet #4 says that failing to serve it in time entitles the tenant to a renewal lease. These cases usually end up in Housing Court, so talk to a lawyer before serving.

Common problems and how they are resolved

Other renewal details owners miss

• Electronic offers need consent. HCR says e-signing is voluntary and requires the tenant’s written consent on form EL-TVC first. Each named tenant (other than spouses or domestic partners) must consent.
• Adding a spouse. HCR says the owner must add a tenant’s spouse to the lease at renewal when asked.
• Odd lease lengths. RGB orders treat any lease up to one year as a one-year lease, and over one year up to two years as a two-year lease.
• Keep registrations current. The rent on the RTP-8 should match the unit’s registered history. See DHCR annual rent registration.
• Other lawful increases. MCIs and IAIs are separate from the guideline. Check them with the MCI calculator and IAI calculator.

To check a specific offer, run it through the rent-stabilized renewal calculator. Tenants reading this may prefer the tenant-side guide, rent-stabilized renewal leases: deadlines and your choices.