Across Manhattan, more landlords are refusing to renew leases by telling tenants their individual apartments are headed for “demolition,” a move tenants and advocates say cuts against the spirit of New York’s 2024 Good Cause Eviction law. Housing courts are now being asked to decide whether “demolition” means knocking down an entire building or gutting a single apartment, a technical call that could determine whether many market-rate tenants stay put or get pushed out. Tenants who receive these notices say the plans they are shown often look a lot more like standard renovation drawings than blueprints for a true teardown.
One flashpoint is an East Village apartment shared by roommates Feryal Nawaz, Carla Orlandi and Parisa, who say their landlord refused to renew their lease last Friday, citing an intent to demolish the unit. That notice came even after an LLC lawyer circulated plans showing the kitchen and one bathroom would simply be relocated within the same footprint of the apartment. On the Upper West Side, tenants at 303 W. 74th Street reported the same demolition-based nonrenewal claim last Friday. At that building, Department of Buildings permits show applications to renovate about 10 apartments, which tenants are now pointing to in housing court as evidence that what is happening is renovation, not demolition, as reported by THE CITY.
Housing court has already started stress-testing these tactics. On Jan. 21, 2026, Manhattan Judge Tracy E. Ferdinand denied a landlord’s motion to strike tenants’ defenses in consolidated holdover proceedings, finding that the landlord’s architect report, offered without expert testimony, did not establish a basic showing that the owner planned to demolish rather than renovate the apartments. The judge also ruled that a “housing accommodation” can include an individual unit, leaving key factual disputes for trial, according to Fordham Law’s Housing Court Decisions Project.
How The Law Defines Demolition
New York’s Good Cause statute lets landlords refuse to renew a lease if they “seek in good faith to demolish” a housing accommodation, but the law never spells out whether that language covers unit-by-unit gut rehabs or only full-building removals. The tenants’ guide from the New York Attorney General says landlords generally must show an honest intention to demolish, the financial ability to finish the work, and any required city approvals, and it notes that tenants can use discovery in court to dig into those claims. The state Division of Homes and Community Renewal also requires specific forms and procedural steps for demolition-based nonrenewals for regulated units, and courts may weigh whether landlords have followed those procedures when deciding if an owner is acting in good faith.
Albany Bill Would Narrow The Loophole
In Albany, lawmakers have introduced A10115, a bill that would amend Real Property Law §216 so that a landlord would have to seek to demolish the “entire housing accommodation or building” to qualify for a demolition-based nonrenewal. Sponsors say that language is designed to block demolition claims aimed at just one apartment at a time. A spokesperson for State Sen. Julia Salazar told THE CITY the original provision was intended to refer to demolition of a whole building, and the bill text is posted with the New York State Assembly.
What Tenants Can Do Right Now
For tenants who receive a demolition-based nonrenewal, housing lawyers say step one is to keep paying rent, hold on to every notice and permit, and get legal help quickly. With an attorney, tenants can request discovery, the court process that forces landlords to turn over Department of Buildings permits, contractor agreements and financing documents. Tenant advocates say discovery is often the fastest way to test whether a landlord is truly planning a building-level teardown or working through a series of unit rehabs, and it can slow a landlord’s case for months, as explained by City Limits.
Legal Stakes For Landlords And Tenants
If a court decides a landlord stretched the truth by labeling a renovation as “demolition” in order to remove tenants, the owner can face remedies under state law and rent-regulation rules and may be ordered to pay damages or attorney fees. The statutory demolition ground and potential remedies are set out in Real Property Law §216, per Justia. Courts have already signaled that they will closely scrutinize architectural reports and require concrete evidence of a building-level teardown rather than rely on how a landlord labels the work, with outcomes likely hinging on months of discovery and, ultimately, trial.
For now, both tenants and landlords are watching to see whether housing courts, and lawmakers in Albany, treat “demolition” as a narrow exception or a broader loophole in the Good Cause framework. In the meantime, tenants facing demolition notices are being urged to document everything and contact tenant legal services as quickly as possible while legislators debate any statutory fix, a process that could play out over months, according to City Limits.
