A residential lease in New York has to identify the parties, the unit, the term, and the rent, and it has to carry a specific set of written disclosures before the tenant signs. On top of those basics, New York lease requirements bake in tenant protections that no contract language can strip away: a one-month cap on security deposits, a warranty of habitability, roommate and sublease rights, limits on late fees, and additional rules in New York City and in rent-stabilized buildings. Anything a lease says that conflicts with those protections is unenforceable.
Core Terms Every Lease Needs
A valid lease names every party by full legal name, gives the physical address and unit number, and sets the start and end dates of the tenancy. It states the monthly rent, when rent is due, and who pays which utilities. Verbal agreements can create a tenancy under New York law, but vague or missing terms in a written lease are what disputes are made of. Put the specifics in writing.
Security Deposit Limits
No landlord may collect more than one month’s rent as a security deposit on a residential unit. General Obligations Law Section 7-108 sets that cap and blocks workarounds labeled “pet deposit,” “move-in fee,” or “last month’s rent.”1New York State Senate. New York General Obligations Code 7-108 – Deposits Made by Tenants of Non-Rent Stabilized Dwelling Units Narrow exceptions apply to registered seasonal dwellings rented for 120 days or fewer per year and to certain owner-occupied cooperative apartments.
The deposit has to go into a New York bank account, kept separate from the landlord’s own money, and the landlord must tell the tenant in writing the name and address of the bank. In buildings with six or more units, the account has to bear interest, and that interest belongs to the tenant (the landlord may keep a small administrative fee).2New York State Senate. New York General Obligations Code 7-103 – Money Deposited or Advanced for Use or Rental of Real Property
Disclosures the Landlord Owes Before You Sign
Several written disclosures have to go into or alongside the lease. Some come from federal law, some from state law, and some apply only in New York City.
Lead-Based Paint
For any residential building built before 1978, federal law requires the landlord to share known information about lead paint in the unit, hand over any existing inspection reports, and include a lead warning statement in the lease. A copy of the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home” has to come with it.3US EPA. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule – Section 1018 of Title X
Sprinkler System Notice
Every residential lease in the state must contain a conspicuous, bold notice stating whether the unit has a working sprinkler system. If there is one, the notice has to give the last date it was inspected and maintained.4New York State Senate. New York Code RPP 231-a – Sprinkler System Notice in Residential Leases
Bedbug History in New York City
New York City landlords must give each tenant signing a vacancy lease a written notice disclosing the building’s bedbug infestation history, covering the building, the unit itself, and adjoining units.5New York State Homes and Community Renewal. DBB-N Disclosure of Bedbug Infestation History
Window Guards and Stove Knob Covers in New York City
New York City landlords have to send an annual notice asking whether any child age ten or younger lives in the apartment. If one does, the landlord must install window guards, and any tenant can request them even without children in the home.6NYC Health. Window Guards Owners of multiple-unit buildings must also send an annual notice about stove knob covers for gas stoves; households with a child under six are entitled to locking covers, and any tenant may request them.7NYC Housing Preservation & Development. Stove Knob Covers
Rights Built Into Every Lease
Several state laws become part of a New York residential lease automatically. A landlord cannot draft around them, and a tenant cannot sign them away.
Warranty of Habitability
Real Property Law Section 235-b guarantees that every rented dwelling is fit for human habitation and free from conditions dangerous to the occupant’s life, health, or safety.8New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 235-B – Warranty of Habitability If the landlord fails to provide heat, hot water, or basic structural safety, the tenant can withhold rent, seek a rent reduction in court, or make repairs and deduct the cost. Any lease clause purporting to waive the warranty is void.
Roommates
Real Property Law Section 235-f prevents a landlord from limiting occupancy to only the people named on the lease. A tenant may share the apartment with immediate family and one additional unrelated occupant plus that occupant’s dependent children, as long as the tenant or the tenant’s spouse uses the apartment as a primary residence.9New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 235-F – Unlawful Restrictions on Occupancy The tenant has to give the landlord the occupant’s name within 30 days of the occupant moving in or within 30 days of the landlord asking.
Subletting
In buildings with four or more residential units, tenants have a statutory right to sublet with the landlord’s prior written consent. The request goes by certified mail with the proposed subtenant’s name and address, the sublease term, and a copy of the proposed sublease.10New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 226-B – Right to Sublease or Assign The landlord then has 30 days to consent or explain in writing why not; silence counts as consent. If consent is unreasonably withheld, the tenant can proceed and, on a finding of bad faith, recover court costs and attorney fees. The original tenant remains on the hook under the lease throughout.
Lease Clauses That Won’t Hold Up
New York courts refuse to enforce lease provisions that clash with state law. Common examples:
- Any “as-is” clause or language making the tenant waive the right to repairs is void under RPL 235-b.
- A clause requiring the tenant to give up the right to sue for negligence or habitability violations is unenforceable.
- A clause limiting the tenant’s right to bring a declaratory judgment action is void as against public policy under RPL 235-h.
- Any charge above one month’s rent, including anything labeled “non-refundable,” violates GOL 7-108.
- Under RPL 235-c, a court that finds any lease clause unconscionable can refuse to enforce it, strike it, or limit how it applies.11New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law Article 7 – Section 235-C Unconscionable Lease or Clause
An unenforceable clause does not automatically void the whole lease. Courts usually strike the offending provision and enforce the rest.
Late Fees, Application Fees, and Rent Receipts
The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 put hard caps on several charges. Rent is not late until more than five days past its due date. After that grace period, a late fee is limited to $50 or 5 percent of the monthly rent, whichever is less.12New York State Attorney General. Changes in New York State Rent Law Application fees for background and credit checks are capped at $20, and even that fee must be waived if the applicant provides a recent credit report.
When rent is paid in cash or by money order, the landlord must give a written receipt showing the date, amount, unit address, rental period covered, and the signature and title of the person who took payment. A tenant paying by personal check can ask for a receipt in writing, and that request stays in effect for the rest of the tenancy. If rent goes unpaid for five days past its due date, the landlord must send a written notice by certified mail confirming nonpayment; not sending it gives the tenant an affirmative defense in a nonpayment eviction case.13New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 235-E – Duty to Provide a Written Receipt
Extra Rules for Rent-Stabilized Apartments
A rent-stabilized lease has to include a standardized rider prepared under Section 26-511(d) of the New York City Rent Stabilization Law. The rider shows the previous legal regulated rent, the guideline percentage for a one-year or two-year renewal, any individual apartment improvement charges, and the new legal regulated rent.14New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Lease Rider for Rent Stabilized Tenants If the landlord leaves the rider out, the tenant can challenge the rent with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal.
Rent-stabilized tenants also have the right to renew for a one-year or two-year term. The landlord must offer the renewal between 90 and 150 days before the current lease expires, and the tenant has 60 days to respond. If no renewal is offered, the existing lease terms and rent stay in effect until one is properly offered, and the tenant is not at risk of eviction for the lapse.
Ending a Lease Early: Military Service and Domestic Violence
Two situations let a tenant walk away from a lease without owing the rest of the rent, and both take written notice plus documentation.
The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act lets an active-duty servicemember terminate a residential lease after entering military service, or after receiving orders for a permanent change of station or a deployment of 90 days or more.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases Written notice with a copy of the orders goes to the landlord, and termination takes effect 30 days after the next rent payment is due. Dependents’ lease obligations end too.
Under Real Property Law Section 227-c, a tenant or household member who is a victim of domestic violence and reasonably fears staying in the unit may terminate the lease on at least 30 days’ written notice.16New York State Senate. New York Real Property Law 227-C – Early Lease Termination for Domestic Violence Within 25 days of that notice, the tenant has to provide documentation such as an order of protection, a police report, or medical records tied to the violence. Once the lease is properly terminated, no further rent is owed past the termination date.
Fair Housing Limits on Lease Terms
The federal Fair Housing Act bars a landlord from refusing to rent, setting different lease terms, or otherwise discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing A lease clause restricting families with children or targeting tenants with disabilities violates federal law.
New York’s Human Rights Law adds categories including age, marital status, military status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, citizenship or immigration status, and lawful source of income. That last one means a landlord generally cannot reject an applicant simply because the rent will be paid with a housing voucher or other government assistance.
Reasonable accommodation rules also affect lease terms. The most common request involves assistance animals. An assistance animal is not a pet, so a “no pets” policy and any related pet fees have to be waived for a tenant with a disability-related need for the animal, unless the accommodation would be an undue burden or a direct safety threat.18U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals
Notice To End a Tenancy or Skip a Renewal
How much notice is needed depends on how long the tenant has lived in the unit. For a tenant who has been in the apartment less than a year or whose lease is shorter than a year, the landlord must give at least 30 days’ written notice before declining to renew or raising the rent. The notice grows to 60 days for tenancies between one and two years, and 90 days for tenancies of two years or longer.19New York State Attorney General. Residential Tenants Rights Guide Either side can end a month-to-month tenancy; outside New York City, the tenant gives one month’s notice. These timelines apply to market-rate apartments. Rent-stabilized tenants keep the renewal rights described above and cannot be denied a renewal except on specific grounds in the Rent Stabilization Code.
Getting a Fully Executed Copy
After signing, the landlord should provide a fully executed copy of the lease with every signature, rider, and disclosure attached, usually in person or by certified mail. If the copy does not arrive within a reasonable time, send a written demand. Without a complete signed copy, enforcing the rent amount, the term, or any negotiated concession later becomes much harder.