What a Residential Lease Must Include in New York

New York sets no mandatory lease template, so two valid leases can look very different. What the state does control is the substance: a set of tenant protections that apply to nearly every residential rental and that a lease cannot bargain away. This article explains what a residential lease has to account for in New York, which terms the law caps or fixes, and which clauses courts treat as unenforceable. It sits within New York landlord-tenant law, which covers the wider framework of rights, rent rules, and eviction procedure. It does not cover the separate rent-stabilization rules that apply to roughly one million regulated apartments, mostly in New York City.

When a New York lease must be in writing

A residential lease in New York can be oral or written, and a short oral month-to-month arrangement is legally valid. The dividing line is the length of the term. Under New York’s statute of frauds, N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 5-701, an agreement that by its terms cannot be performed within one year is void unless it is in writing and signed by the party to be charged. A lease for more than one year falls squarely inside that rule, so a two-year tenancy promised on a handshake is not enforceable for its full term.

For a lease of one year or less, a writing is not legally required, but the practical case for one is strong: the written document is what proves the rent, the term, and each side’s obligations if a dispute reaches court. When a lease is a written consumer contract for a residential unit, N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 5-702 also requires it to be written in a clear and coherent manner using words with common meanings, the state’s plain-language rule for consumer contracts.

Whatever its length, a lease identifies the parties, the premises, the rent, and the term. Beyond those basics, the enforceable content of the lease is shaped by the statutory limits described below.

Rent, deposits, and the fees a lease can charge

A market-rate lease can set the rent at any figure the parties agree to, but New York caps the money a landlord can collect around that rent. These caps came largely from the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act and apply statewide to most residential units.

A security deposit is the most tightly limited. N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108 provides that no deposit or advance may exceed one month’s rent for a non-rent-stabilized unit. The same statute governs the money at move-out: the landlord must return the deposit, minus reasonable itemized deductions, within 14 days after the tenant vacates, and a landlord who misses that 14-day deadline forfeits the right to keep any part of it. Deductions are limited to unpaid rent, damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, unpaid utilities owed to the landlord, and moving and storage costs. A lease cannot enlarge the deposit or shorten the tenant’s protections beyond what the statute allows.

The lease also cannot pile on the upfront and recurring fees that were once common. Under N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a, a landlord may not demand any application fee beyond the cost of a background and credit check, and that reimbursement is capped at $20 or the actual cost, whichever is less. The same section limits late fees: a late charge cannot exceed $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less, and cannot be imposed until the rent is more than five days late.

The warranty of habitability every lease carries

Every residential lease in New York includes an implied warranty of habitability, and it applies whether or not the written lease mentions it. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-b provides that in every written or oral lease the landlord warrants the premises are fit for human habitation, fit for the uses reasonably intended, and free of conditions dangerous to the occupants’ life, health, or safety. The warranty covers the apartment and the common areas used with it, and what the New York warranty of habitability reaches and how a tenant enforces it are covered in a separate article.

The warranty is non-waivable. Section 235-b states that any agreement by a tenant waiving or modifying these rights is void as contrary to public policy, so a lease clause purporting to make the tenant accept the unit “as is” or to release the landlord from repair duties does not hold up. The conditions the warranty most often reaches are lack of heat or hot water, pest infestations, mold, and unsafe plumbing or wiring.

When the warranty is breached, a court can award a rent abatement measured by the reduced value of the apartment during the period the condition existed, and § 235-b provides that the court need not require expert testimony to set the amount. The New York Attorney General publishes a plain-language overview of these protections on its tenants and homeowners resource page.

Occupancy: who a lease must allow to live there

A lease cannot lawfully limit occupancy to only the named tenant. New York’s “roommate law,” N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-f, makes it unlawful for a landlord to restrict occupancy, by express lease term or otherwise, to the tenant and the tenant’s immediate family. Any such restriction is unenforceable as against public policy.

The statute construes a lease signed by one tenant to permit occupancy by that tenant, the tenant’s immediate family, one additional occupant, and that occupant’s dependent children, as long as the tenant or the tenant’s spouse uses the unit as a primary residence. A lease signed by two or more tenants is read to allow the tenants, their families, and occupants, subject to the number of tenants named in the lease. The tenant must tell the landlord the name of any additional occupant within 30 days of the occupancy starting or within 30 days of the landlord’s request.

The added occupant gains no independent right to stay if the tenant leaves, and N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-f does not override federal, state, or local occupancy limits set by housing or safety codes. A lease clause that tries to waive these occupancy rights is null and void under the statute.

Notice terms and renewal disclosures

A lease sets a term, but state law controls what has to happen before the rent goes up or the tenancy ends. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c requires a landlord who intends to raise the rent by 5% or more, or who does not intend to renew, to give advance written notice on a schedule tied to how long the tenant has lived there.

Since 2024, § 226-c also requires the renewal or non-renewal notice to disclose whether the unit is covered by New York’s Good Cause Eviction Law and, for covered units, the lawful basis for a non-renewal or the justification for an increase above the local rent standard. Good Cause protections apply automatically in New York City and in localities that have opted in, and they can limit both non-renewal and large increases for covered leases. The court system’s CourtHelp self-help center explains how notice defects are raised in a housing case.

Lease clauses New York law makes void

Several statutes converge on one point: a lease provision that waives a tenant’s statutory protection is generally unenforceable, regardless of the tenant’s signature. This is why the substance of New York lease law matters more than the wording of any particular lease.

A lease cannot waive the warranty of habitability under § 235-b, cannot exceed the deposit and fee caps in § 7-108 and § 238-a, and cannot restrict occupancy in violation of § 235-f, each statute voids a contrary clause on its face. A lease also cannot authorize the landlord to remove a tenant without going to court. Under N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235 and related law, only a court-ordered eviction carried out by a marshal or sheriff is lawful, so a clause permitting a lockout or a utility shutoff to force a tenant out has no effect. A landlord who wants to end a tenancy has to use the written notices the law requires, described in the article on New York eviction notice types.

A clause that appears in a lease but conflicts with these statutes is simply severed; the rest of the lease stays in force. That means a tenant does not lose the underlying protection by signing, and a landlord cannot rely on the clause even if the tenant never objected to it.