How to Fire Your Property Manager in New York

A step-by-step guide for New York landlords switching property managers, covering broker trust accounts, what to collect, moving tenant deposits under GOL 7-103 and who may manage property for pay.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Statements that never reconcile, repairs that sit for weeks, a tenant who calls you instead of them. Most landlords wait a year longer than they should.

New York gives you less of a hard deadline than some states do, and more leverage than you might think. Your manager is almost certainly a licensed broker, which puts their trust account and their duty to account for your money under the Department of State. Here is how to make the switch without losing a deposit, a tenant or a month of rent.

Step 1. Read your management agreement

Your contract sets the exit. Look for five things.

Notice period. Thirty days' written notice is common.
Termination fee. Some agreements charge one, some do not.
Leasing fee clawbacks. Check what you owe for tenants the manager placed.
Exclusive listing or renewal commissions. Some agreements keep earning after you leave.
Who holds the deposits and which bank they sit in.

If the manager breached the agreement, by ignoring repairs or mishandling money, you may have grounds to end it sooner. That is a question for a New York attorney.

Step 2. Send written notice

Put it in writing, by email and by the method your agreement names. Give the end date, demand a full handover by that date, and list what you expect back (Step 4). Keep the tone flat and factual. You want your records, not a fight.

New York has no statute setting a handover deadline when an owner fires a manager. Set one yourself in the notice, in writing, so there is a date to point at later.

Step 3. Know the broker trust-account rules

Managing rentals for pay in New York requires a real estate broker license, and a licensed broker's handling of your money is regulated.

No commingling. A broker cannot mix your money with their own. It goes in a separate special bank account used only for those funds, at a federally insured bank, deposited within three business days. Interest cannot be kept by the broker (19 NYCRR § 175.1).
They owe you an accounting. A broker has to render an account to the client and remit any money collected and unspent, within a reasonable time (19 NYCRR § 175.2). "Reasonable time" is the whole standard, which is why your own written deadline matters.
Tenant deposits follow the deposit law. A broker holding security deposits has to handle and dispose of them under General Obligations Law § 7-103, interest included, and failing to do it is grounds for discipline by the Secretary of State (19 NYCRR § 175.3(b)).
No hidden markups. A managing broker cannot take a commission, rebate or profit on money spent for you without your full knowledge and consent (19 NYCRR § 175.3(a)).

If the money or the records do not come back, file a complaint with the New York Department of State, Division of Licensing Services. Untrustworthiness is a ground for revoking or suspending a broker's license (RPL § 441-c).

Step 4. Collect everything

Ask for all of it before the end date.

Security deposits for every tenant, the amount held for each, and the bank name and address
Accrued interest on deposits for buildings with six or more units
The trust account ledger showing rent collected, fees taken and what is still owed to you
Signed leases, renewals, riders and any good cause eviction notices served under RPL § 231-c
Rent ledgers and payment history for each tenant
Copies of RPL § 226-c notices already sent, with proof of service
Tenant contact details, including emergency contacts
Open maintenance requests, vendor contacts, invoices and warranties
Keys, fobs, garage remotes, lockbox codes and portal logins
Certificates, registrations and inspection records for the building
Year-to-date income and expense reports for your taxes

Note that the three-year record-keeping rule for brokers (19 NYCRR § 175.23) covers residential sales transactions, not your management file. Your contract is what gets you the management records, so ask for all of it in writing.

Step 5. Move the security deposits

Once the deposits come back, they need a proper home the same day.

New York deposit money stays the tenant's money, held in trust, never mixed with yours (GOL § 7-103(1)). You have to tell each tenant in writing the name and address of the bank holding it (GOL § 7-103(2)). For a building with six or more family dwelling units, it goes in an interest-bearing account at a New York banking organization, and you may keep 1% a year as your administrative fee (GOL § 7-103(2-a)).

Check the amounts as they land. The cap is one month's rent (GOL § 7-108(1-a)(a)), and when a tenant moves out the 14-day clock and itemized statement are now your problem (GOL § 7-108(1-a)(e)).

One gap worth naming. New York has a statute for deposits when a property is sold, requiring the old owner to turn the money over and notify tenants by registered or certified mail within five days (GOL § 7-105). There is no matching statute for changing managers. Borrow the pattern anyway. Move the money, then write to every tenant.

Step 6. Tell your tenants

Tenants want three answers. Where rent goes now, who to call for repairs, and whether their deposit is safe.

Send one dated letter covering all three, with the effective date, the new payment method and the bank holding the deposit. That last part is a legal requirement, not a courtesy (GOL § 7-103(2)). From then on you owe receipts for cash rent (RPL § 235-e(a)) and the five-day certified notice when rent does not arrive (RPL § 235-e(d)).

Step 7. Take over the day to day

Line up vendors, set up rent collection, and get a maintenance line that answers at 2am. Put the deadlines on a calendar now, the 14-day deposit return and the 30, 60 or 90-day rent increase notices under RPL § 226-c. This is the step where most landlords end up back where they started, holding a phone that never stops.

Who may manage property for pay in New York

New York defines a real estate broker as anyone who, for another and for a fee, rents or offers to rent real estate, or collects or attempts to collect rent (RPL § 440(1)). Doing that without a license is barred (RPL § 440-a), and an unlicensed person cannot sue anyone in a New York court to collect their fee (RPL § 442-d).

The owner exemption sits in those two words, "for another." Manage your own property and you are not acting for another, so no license is needed. Hire someone to do it for pay and they need one. The statute's saving clause carves out court-appointed receivers and executors, public officers and attorneys at law (RPL § 442-f).

Before you sign with a replacement, look up the license on the Department of State's public search. If the firm cannot produce a broker of record, walk.

Your switching checklist

Read the agreement for notice, fees and clawbacks
Send written notice with a firm handover date
Demand the trust account ledger and every dollar held
Collect deposits, interest, leases, ledgers, notices and keys
Open a compliant deposit account and move the money
Write to every tenant with the bank name and address
Put the 14-day and 226-c deadlines on your calendar
Verify any new manager's broker license with the Department of State

Switch to Taz

Taz is an AI property manager built for landlords who have been let down before. It answers tenants day and night, routes repairs to vendors, sends rent reminders and keeps every record in one place, for a flat monthly price per door instead of a cut of your rent. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your management agreement and your specific facts matter. Talk to a New York attorney before ending a contract. Last checked September 2026.