Tenants' Rights

Discrimination: It is unlawful to deny a person housing based on their race, creed, color, national origin, gender identity or

expression, disability, sexual orientation, military status, marital status, family status, lawful source of income or status as a

victim of domestic violence.

Updated 5/23

Leases

A lease is an oral or written contract between a tenant

and a landlord containing the terms and conditions of the

rental agreement.

After it is signed, a written lease may not be changed

without consent of both parties. Any changes in your lease

should be in writing and signed by your landlord.

An oral lease can be enforced for up to one year.

There is often no lease in a month-to-month tenancy,

which may be ended by the landlord or the tenant.

However, notice must be given at least one month before

your next rent payment is due.

Public housing authority leases have their own regulations

and speciﬁc lease conditions.

For your protection, read and understand your lease

before signing it. At a minimum, your lease should always

include:

the identities of the parties to the agreement;

the term of the lease;

a clear description of the rental space, including

appliances and other furnishings;

who is liable for utility expenses;

the amount of rent;

the date rent is due;

penalties for late rent payments, if any;

the landlord’s responsibilities;

the tenant’s responsibilities; and

provisions regarding painting.

Before you sign a lease

Landlords cannot collect application fees and cannot

charge more than a total of $20 for background or credit

check fees. The landlord must provide the potential tenant

with a copy of the background check or credit check and

a receipt or invoice from the entity conducting the check

prior to collecting the $20. If a potential tenant provides

a copy of a background check or credit check conducted

within the past 30 days, this fee may be waived.

Examine the windows, wiring, insulation, plumbing, walls,

ﬂoors, stairways, stove, refrigerator, toilet, sinks and

heating system. These items should be in good working

condition. If they aren’t, address or resolve the matter

before signing the lease.

If you discover issues after you have moved in, write

to your landlord requesting repairs within a reasonable

amount of time. Remember, read the lease carefully and

know your legal responsibilities under the lease.

Early lease termination

If you wish to terminate your lease before the end of

its time, your landlord is required to attempt to mitigate

damages by making a reasonable, good faith attempt to

re-rent the unit. You may also, in some instances, sublet or

assign the apartment.

Senior citizens moving into health care facilities, as well

as victims of domestic violence who reasonably fear that

they cannot safely remain in their households, are covered

by special protections for early lease termination.

You may be an ETPA tenant

If there are six or more apartments in your building, and

the building is in a locality in Nassau, Rockland, Ulster

or Westchester counties that has adopted the provisions

of the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 (ETPA),

your apartment may be covered by special rules and

regulations. Rent increases are restricted by special

guidelines.

The program is administered by the New York State

Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Each county

has a rent guidelines board, which issues guidelines

stating the maximum allowable increase in rent for one-

or two-year leases or renewals. This provision prohibits

any other increase except in certain circumstances such as

when an owner makes a major capital improvement.

If you are a new tenant renting a vacant apartment or an

existing tenant renewing your lease, you have the choice

of taking a one- or two-year lease.

Landlords must continue all required services that were

provided at the time the apartment became regulated.

Information on...

Leases

Security deposits

Evictions

Subleases

Responsibilities of

landlords and tenants in

Nassau, Rockland, Ulster

& Westchester counties

Tenants’

Rights

Dear Friend,

New York State laws governing housing are

complex, and tenants are often unaware of their

rights.

The 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection

Act enacted some of the most historic tenant

protections in New York State history. There are

also certain housing accommodations in parts

of the state covered by special laws governing

rent and services. These laws provide additional

rights to tenants.

This brochure can answer some of the questions

you might have about your rights as a tenant.

Please contact my ofﬁce if I can assist you

further with this or any other matter.

Sincerely,

Carl E. Heastie

Speaker of the Assembly

250 Broadway, Suite 2301

New York, NY 10007

212-312-1400

Room 932

Legislative Ofﬁce Building

Albany, NY 12248

518-455-3791

speaker@nyassembly.gov

www.nyassembly.gov

A message from...

Speaker of the

Assembly

Carl E. Heastie

Landlord

Under state law, landlords are prohibited from

allowing any condition that may endanger a

tenant’s life, health or safety.

The dwelling must be clean before the tenant

moves in.

Public halls and stairways must be lighted

adequately.

During the winter season, heat must be kept on

at all times, except during repairs, alterations and

temporary emergencies.

Radiators, plumbing, wiring, hot water heaters and

furnaces must be maintained.

Apartment and surrounding areas must be kept

free from insects, rodents and trash.

Tenant

Pay the rent on time.

Apartment and yard must be kept clean.

The landlord must be kept informed of any

problems with facilities.

Any damages to the premises, besides normal wear

and tear, must be repaired.

Unless otherwise stated in the lease

Senior citizens and tenants

with disabilities

If you are a senior, aged 62 or over, you may be eligible

for the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE)

program. Individuals with disabilities who receive certain

forms of state or federal disability-related ﬁnancial

assistance may be eligible for the Disability Rent Increase

Exemption (DRIE) program. Remember, there are very

speciﬁc eligibility requirements for these programs.

Senior citizens and tenants with disabilities are also

protected from being threatened with eviction due to

conversion to cooperative or condominium ownership.

Heat

In a building with three or more units, between Oct.

1 and May 31, landlords are required by state law to

provide heating equipment that can maintain room

temperatures of 68° F between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. when

the temperature outside is below 55° F.

County laws may go beyond what’s required by state law.

Housing code violations

Any problems endangering your health and safety should

be reported to the landlord immediately. If the landlord is

not available or won’t correct the problem, tenants should

call their local health or building department.

Subleases

If you live in a building with three or fewer apartments, you

do not have the right to sublet. You may ask the landlord

for permission to sublease your apartment, but the landlord

does not have to agree.

In buildings with four or more apartments, you are allowed

to sublease your apartment with the advance written

consent of the landlord. As the original tenant of a

subleased apartment, you remain liable for damages and/

or defaults in rent. The steps to sublease are:

1. Inform your landlord of your intent to sublease by

certiﬁed or registered mail, including information

required by law about the sublessee.

2. Your landlord has 10 days to request more information.

3. Within 30 days after this request and additional

information is mailed, or if more information was not

requested within 30 days of the initial notiﬁcation, your

landlord must approve or deny the request.

4. If your landlord fails to notify you, this can be

considered an approval.

5. Upon approval, you may sublease the apartment.

Security deposits

A security deposit is a sum of money held by the landlord

to cover violations of the lease — e.g., damages — caused

by a tenant or nonpayment of rent. The law limits a

security deposit to an amount equal to one month’s rent

and requires any deposit to be refundable. Tenants also

have the right to ask for a walk-through inspection with

the landlord before occupancy and again at the end of the

tenancy. As a tenant, you should request a receipt for your

security deposit. In buildings with six or more housing

units, the landlord must:

deposit your money in an interest-bearing account;

give you the name and address of the bank in writing;

and

hold the interest in trust or pay it to you annually. The

landlord may retain 1% of the interest generated on the

security deposit for administrative expenses.

In buildings with fewer than six housing units, the landlord

is not required to deposit the money in an interest-bearing

account. If the landlord decides to deposit the money in a

bank, you’re entitled to proper notiﬁcation and interest, if

any, less 1% for administrative expenses.

When you move, you should receive a refund of the

security deposit. You’re responsible for any damages

beyond normal wear and tear, and your landlord may

withhold all or part of the security deposit to cover

damage or unpaid rent. Landlords are required to

provide an itemized account of why any security deposit

was retained within 14 days of the tenant vacating the

premises. The landlord can be found liable for punitive

damages up to twice the amount of the deposit if they

willfully failed to follow the new provisions relating to

security deposits.

Tenants’ Rights & Protections in New York State

Evictions

Eviction is the legal removal of a person from someone

else’s property. The steps in an eviction are:

1. Tenant defaults in rent payments and/or breaks the

terms of the lease or the lease expires. Tenants have 14

days to pay their rent before an action can be brought.

2. Landlord ﬁles a complaint and serves a petition to the

tenant. Tenants must be given at least 10 days’ notice

for a court hearing.

3. Tenant appears in court to contest the eviction and to

raise any counterclaims against the landlord. If there

is a dispute, either party may request an adjournment

of at least 14 days. In certain circumstances, the law

also allows judges to stay an eviction proceeding if it

would cause undue hardship in a tenant’s life. Tenants

who don’t contest the eviction in court lose the case by

default.

4. If the landlord wins, the court issues a warrant, ordering

the tenant’s eviction, to be served by the marshal or

sheriff on a business day between the hours of sunrise

and sunset. The court may also issue a monetary

judgment against the tenant. If the landlord can’t

prove his or her case, the action is dismissed. If the

tenant wins a counterclaim, the court issues a judgment

against the landlord.

5. If the case involves the nonpayment of rent, the tenant

can usually end the action by paying rent before the

warrant is issued.

6. The warrant is served, giving the tenant 14 days to

collect their belongings and ﬁnd a new home.

7. After 14 days, the marshal or sheriff removes the

tenant’s belongings from the premises and locks the

tenant out.

Retaliatory eviction protections

Every lease is a guarantee by the landlord that the

premises are ﬁt for human habitation and tenants will not

be in danger – called a warranty of habitability. Breach

of this guarantee can be grounds for a tenant to sue the

landlord or, if the landlord has started a court action, have

the landlord’s action dismissed.

However, tenants are often reluctant to report violations

of housing codes or seek enforcement of their legal

rights for fear they may be evicted in retaliation. By law,

a residential tenant — except tenants of owner-occupied

dwellings with less than four units — can claim retaliation

as a defense to an eviction action if the tenant has

ﬁled a good faith complaint of an unsafe, unhealthy or

uninhabitable dwelling or the tenant has taken action

in good faith to secure his or her rights as a tenant.

Landlords have the burden of proving the eviction is not

in retaliation for up to a year after the tenant’s good faith

complaint or action, and tenants may receive a one-year

lease renewal if they prevail. The laws also protect tenants

against landlord retaliation for participating in tenant

organizations.

Responsibilities*