New GCEL Compliance Requirement for Landlords

On March 24, 2025, an important decision was issued by the Honorable Adam Meyers in RP Wimbledon Owner, LLC v. Theresa Chisholm. Specifically, RP Wimbledon expanded the requirements for serving notices of non-renewal on tenants subject to New York’s Good Cause Eviction (GCEL). Previously, when serving notices of non-renewal based on a tenant’s failure to pay rent, it was typical for owners to simply include a lump sum arrears figure in such notice of non-renewal to demonstrate the basis for why tenant’s lease is not being renewed. Now, however, Hon. Meyers has imposed the requirement to include an itemized breakdown of all arrears owed through the date of the notice of non-renewal.

There is a long-standing proposition that a “ proper demand for rent must fairly afford the tenant, at least, actual notice of the alleged amount due and of the period for which such claim is made.” Schwartz v. Wiess-Newell, 87 Misc 2dd 558 . Until now, the standard in Weiss-Newell was only applied to rent demands in residential non-payment proceedings and notices of termination based on non-payment of rent in commercial holdover proceedings. However, it seems as though now, all owners should consider including itemized rent arrears breakdowns in their notices of non-renewal when such notices are predicated on a tenant’s failure to pay rent. While it is unclear if RP Wimbledon will be applied in other courts, we advise you to err on the side of caution and implement this addition in your notices of non-renewal regardless of the borough in which the court sits.

Please immediately contact your trusted KMWB advisor and should you have any questions or concerns about RP Wimbledon, or any other issue which could significantly impact your building.