No overcharge penalties or damages may be awarded for a period more than six years before the action is commenced or complaint is filed, however, an overcharge claim may be filed at any time, and the calculation and determination of the legal rent and the amount of the overcharge shall be made in accordance with the provisions of law governing the determination and calculation of overcharges.
§ 213-a.Residential rent overcharge.
Article 2. Limitations of Time · Last amended 2019 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 213-a lets a tenant file a rent overcharge claim against a landlord at any time, but limits the overcharge penalties and damages a court may award to the six years before the tenant files the complaint.
Full Text of CPLR 213-a
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 213-a splits a rent overcharge case into two separate questions: when can you bring the claim, and how much can you collect once you win. New York removed any deadline for filing an overcharge complaint, so a tenant can raise a claim about rent charged decades ago. The six-year rule only limits the second question — a court cannot award overcharge penalties or damages for any period more than six years before the tenant filed the complaint, even if the overcharge itself started earlier.
This section leaves the hard math to other law. Figuring out the legal regulated rent, and how much a landlord overcharged above it, follows the rent-regulation statutes that govern rent-stabilized and rent-controlled housing, not the CPLR. Section 213-a exists only to fix the time boundary on recovery, not the method of calculation.
The legislature broadened this provision as part of a major 2019 overhaul of the state's rent laws, extending the recovery window and removing the earlier filing deadline entirely. That change reflects a policy choice: rather than force tenants to sue quickly or lose the right to complain at all, the law now lets the claim proceed whenever it's raised, while still capping the landlord's financial exposure to a defined six-year period.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far back can a tenant collect rent overcharge damages in New York?
A court can only award overcharge penalties and damages for the six years before the tenant filed the complaint, even though the tenant can point to overcharges from further back to establish the rental history.
Is there a deadline to file a rent overcharge complaint in New York?
No fixed filing deadline exists. CPLR 213-a lets a tenant bring the claim at any time; the six-year rule only caps how far back a court can go when it calculates the overcharge and any damages.
Does CPLR 213-a set how the legal regulated rent is calculated?
No. The section addresses only the time limit on penalties and damages a court may award; the calculation of legal rent and the overcharge amount follows the separate law governing rent regulation.
Can a landlord be held responsible for overcharges from many years ago?
A tenant can use that older rental history to help prove the claim, but recovery of penalties or damages is confined to the six years immediately before the complaint was filed.
Does CPLR 213-a apply to a market-rate apartment with no rent regulation?
The section addresses residential rent overcharge, a concept tied to rent-stabilized and rent-controlled housing, so it governs the timing of overcharge recovery in that regulated context.
Amendment History
Add, L 1983, ch 403, § 35; amd, L 1997, ch 116, § 34, eff June 19, 1997; L 2019, ch 36, § 6 (Part F), effective June 14, 2019.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
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