10 rules for unincorporated Nassau County, New York.
Verified from official government sources
Nassau County rent regulation under NY Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA) where villages opt in. Villages of Great Neck Plaza, Thomaston, Mineola, Hempstead Village, and several others adopted ETPA. Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act 2019 (HSTPA) strengthened tenant rights statewide.
Nassau County landlords are subject to New York's Good Cause Eviction Law (L. 2024, ch. 56, Part HH) only if a municipality opts in. Most Nassau villages and towns have not opted in, so standard RPAPL Article 7 eviction procedures apply with no just-cause requirement outside opt-in areas.
Nassau County has no countywide rental registry, but most towns and incorporated villages require rental permits. Town of Hempstead, Town of North Hempstead, Town of Oyster Bay, and villages like Hempstead, Freeport, and Long Beach all maintain separate rental permit programs with inspections.
Nassau County rentals follow New York's HSTPA security-deposit cap of one month's rent. Landlords must hold deposits in interest-bearing accounts for buildings with six or more units and return deposits within fourteen days of move-out with an itemized statement.
Nassau County rentals follow HSTPA notice rules requiring 30, 60, or 90 days written notice before non-renewal based on tenancy length. ETPA rent stabilization does not apply to Nassau, so no-fault non-renewals remain legal with proper notice and lawful reason.
HSTPA caps Nassau County rental fees: application fees at twenty dollars, late fees at fifty dollars or five percent, and limits on broker commissions and pet fees. Landlords cannot pass through unrelated maintenance costs as separate charges during a lease.
New York Real Property Law section 235 prohibits landlord harassment of Nassau tenants through threats, repeated unwanted contact, utility shutoffs, frivolous lawsuits, and lockouts. Violations carry civil penalties up to two thousand dollars per offense plus actual and punitive damages.
New York Human Rights Law and the Nassau County Human Rights Law forbid landlords from refusing rentals because of a tenant's lawful source of income, including Section 8 vouchers, SSI, SSDI, veterans benefits, or unemployment. Violations carry significant civil penalties.
Nassau County landlords must accept Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers as a lawful source of income under New York Human Rights Law. The Nassau County Office of Housing and Community Development administers the local voucher program covering several thousand households.
From March 2020 through January 2022, New York's COVID Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act paused most Nassau County evictions. The moratorium has expired, but ERAP arrears protections, COVID-era judgments, and HSTPA reforms continue to shape current cases.
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