A New York residential lease agreement (“rental agreement”) is a written contract where one party (the “tenant”) lives in a particular property (“premises”) owned or overseen by another party (the “landlord”), in exchange for regular payments of rent. New York leases are governed by applicable landlord-tenant laws at both the state and local level.
New York Lease Agreement Disclosures
New York requires these disclosures for all or some residential lease agreements.
| Disclosure | Applicable To |
|---|---|
| Fire Sprinkler System | All Rentals |
| Good Cause Eviction Notice | All Rentals |
| Security Deposit Holdings | All Units With a Security Deposit |
| Certificates of Occupancy | 3 or Fewer Rental Units |
| Shared Utilities Disclosure | All Units With Shared Metering |
| Lead Paint | Units Built Before 1978 |
Operative Fire Sprinkler System Notice
Applies to ALL New York residential leases.
All New York rental agreements must include a conspicuous, bolded disclosure regarding the presence or absence of a functioning fire sprinkler system on the property. If there is a system, the lease must disclose dates of maintenance and inspection.
A proper disclosure might look like this:
FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEM. This rental property or dwelling unit is:
[ ] Equipped with a functioning fire sprinkler system
[ ] NOT equipped with a functioning fire sprinkler systemFor functioning systems, the maintenance history is as follows:
_________
_________
_________
Good-Cause Eviction Notice Disclosure
Applies to all new and renewing New York leases.
New York has a good-cause eviction law which limits eviction options, and in particular restricts lease non-renewal to a specific set of reasons in cities which opt into the law. ALL landlords must present a long and specific notice about the law’s applicability, when executing or renewing a lease.
Security Deposit Holdings Disclosure
Applies to New York rental agreements where the landlord collects a security deposit.
New York landlords can’t ask for a security deposit unless they first provide a written disclosure of how the funds will be kept during the rental period.
This disclosure must include the name and location of the holding institution, and the sum held. It may also include the account number.
Download: New York Security Deposit Holdings Disclosure Form (PDF)
Certificates of Occupancy
Applies to New York rentals of properties which contain 3 or fewer units.
When a New York property contains three or fewer units, the landlord can’t rent them out without providing a conspicuous, bolded notice disclosing the status (or absence) of a certificate of occupancy. A certificate of occupancy is a legal guarantee that all building codes are met, fees paid, and paperwork completed for the property.
New and existing buildings must have a certificate of occupancy unless built as a residential building before 1938. Landlords may provide tenants with an actual copy of the certificate of occupancy, rather than the original.
Shared Utilities Disclosure
Applies to New York properties which share a common utility meter.
In New York, when multiple rental units share a utility meter for the whole building or property, the landlord may in some cases charge separately for utilities through the installation of a submetering system or ratio billing system. The landlord must disclose how the charges are billed to individual tenants.
Lead-Based Paint Disclosure
Applies to all rental units built before 1978.
Federal law requires disclosing the risks posed by lead-based paints in all residences built before 1978. This law requires New York landlords to do the following:
- Fill out and attach this lead-based paint disclosure form to the lease agreement
- Provide the tenant with an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved pamphlet about the dangers of lead-based paint
- Provide additional records or reports about the presence or hazards of any known lead-based paint in the unit (for multi-unit buildings with common areas, this includes information from building-wide evaluations)
Download: New York Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Form (PDF)
Additional Mandatory Disclosures in New York City
- Bed Bug Disclosure: Applies to all NYC rentals. Landlords must disclose a one-year history of bed bug infestation for the unit and the building in which it is located. Units with bed bugs may not be rented out, and landlords must eradicate infestations. Download: New York City Bed Bug Disclosure Form (PDF)
- Stovetop Protections Notice: Applies to NYC multiple dwellings. Landlords must annually remind each tenant that landlords have an obligation to provide stove knob covers, or permanent stove safety knobs with an integrated locking mechanism.
- Signed Lease Agreement: Applies to NYC rent-stabilized units. The landlord must give the tenant a copy of the signed lease agreement within 30 days of the lease commencement.
- Smoke/CO Detector Disclosure: Applies to all NYC rentals. Provides tenants with information about the function and proper usage of the unit’s smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
- Smoking Policy Disclosure: Applies to NYC multiple dwellings. Provides tenants with information about the building’s smoking policy.
- Window Guard Disclosure: Applies to NYC multiple dwellings. Each new lease must contain a disclosure noting the city’s legal requirement to install window guards in any dwelling which houses children under 10 years old.
Optional Disclosures and Addenda (Recommended)
The following lease agreement disclosures and addenda are not required by New York law. They are common inclusions in rental agreements to head off potential conflicts with tenants, or reduce liability for landlords.
| Optional Disclosure | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Asbestos | Informs tenants if there is asbestos on the property. May suggest precautions the tenant can take to minimize the chance of disturbing any asbestos fibers. |
| Landlord’s Name and Address | Guarantees smooth communication and payment of rent in the event of any unusual situations. Typically includes additional contact information for the landlord and authorized agents, such as phone numbers and email addresses. |
| Late/Returned Check Fees | Discloses details about late or returned check fees, if the landlord wants the option of charging them. In New York there is a late fee limit of $50 or 5% of the rent amount, whichever is less. Returned check fees are limited to $20 per returned check. |
| Medical Marijuana Use | Provides rules or restrictions for tenant use of medical marijuana on the property. Some laws allow landlords to restrict marijuana usage to non-smoking methods only, or to designated smoking areas which do not risk interfering with other premises. |
| Mold Disclosure | Informs the tenant of the property’s current mold status. May help protect the landlord against future liability for mold damages. |
| Move-in Checklist | A move-in checklist helps protect both the landlord and the tenant from false claims about property damage. |
| Non-Refundable Fees | The lease must specify which charges are non-refundable. The tenant may otherwise be entitled to a full or partial refund when the lease ends. |
| Smoking | Informs tenants of designated smoking areas which don’t interfere with the use of other premises. |
Failure To Include Mandatory Disclosures
Failure to include a mandatory disclosure could result in fees, denial of eviction, refusal of the landlord’s other rights under the lease, and similar legal penalties. Disclosures outline important health, safety, and property information, and the law penalizes failure to disclose.
Lead-based paint hazards are particularly important as a disclosure. Landlords who don’t disclose the potential for lead hazards can face tens of thousands of dollars in fines per violation.
Sources
- 1 N.Y. Real Prop. L. § 231-A
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…1. Every residential lease shall provide conspicuous notice in bold face type as to the existence or non-existence of a maintained and operative sprinkler system in the leased premises.
…
3. If there is a maintained and operative sprinkler system in the leased premises, the residential lease agreement shall provide further notice as to the last date of maintenance and inspection… - 2 NY Housing Maintenance Code §27–2018.1(a)
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…For housing accommodations subject to this code, an owner shall furnish to each tenant signing a vacancy lease, a notice in a form promulgated or approved by the state division of housing and community renewal that sets forth the property’s bedbug infestation
history for the previous year regarding the premises rented by the tenant and the building in which the premises are located… - 3 N.Y. Real Prop. L. § 238-a(2) & (3)
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2. No landlord, lessor, sub-lessor or grantor may demand any payment, fee, or charge for the late payment of rent unless the payment of rent has not been made within five days of the date it was due, and such payment, fee, or charge shall not exceed fifty dollars or five percent of the monthly rent, whichever is less; provided a cooperative housing corporation, other than a cooperative housing corporation subject to the provisions of article two, article four, article five or article eleven of the private housing finance law, shall be permitted to charge a tenant that is a dwelling unit owner or shareholder of such cooperative housing corporation a fee of up to eight percent of the monthly maintenance fee for the late payment of the monthly maintenance fee if the proprietary lease or occupancy agreement provides for such fee.
3. Any provision of a lease or contract waiving or limiting the provisions of this section shall be void as against public policy.
Source Link - 4 N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 5-328(3)
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Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person to whom a check, draft or like instrument, other than a money order, bank cashier’s check or certified check, is tendered for any transaction, other than a consumer transaction, may, if such instrument is dishonored charge or collect from the maker or drawer the amount of twenty dollars for the return of such unpaid or dishonored instrument.
Source Link - 5 24 Code Fed. Regs. § 30.65 (2023)
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“The Director of the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, or his or her designee, may initiate a civil money penalty action against any person who knowingly violates 42 U.S.C. 4852d… The maximum penalty is $21,018 for each violation.”
- 6 N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 231-C
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A landlord as defined in subdivision two of section two hundred eleven of this chapter shall append to or incorporate into any initial lease, renewal lease, notice required pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section two hundred twenty-six-c of this article, notice required pursuant to subdivision two of section seven hundred eleven of the real property actions and proceedings law, or petition pursuant to section seven hundred forty one of the real property actions and proceedings law, the following notice: [notice omitted here for reasons of length, but available at the primary source link provided.]
Source Link - 7 N.Y. Pub. Serv. Law § 52(2)(b)(i)
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In the event that a legal impediment or extraordinary cost prevents elimination of a shared meter condition or in the event that the service measured through the shared meter is minimal, under commission rules adopted, pursuant to subdivision eight of this section, the owner, as an alternative to eliminating the shared meter condition, may enter into a mutually acceptable written agreement with the shared meter customer and where applicable, a third party, for apportioning the charges for service measured through the shared meter; provided, however, that the shared meter customer shall pay only for the estimated amount of service provided to the shared meter customer’s dwelling
- 8 N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 27-2045(b)(6)
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Provide to at least one adult occupant of such dwelling unit information relating to (i) the risks posed by carbon monoxide poisoning and, if natural gas detecting devices are required to be installed in such dwelling unit by rules promulgated by the commissioner of buildings, the risks posed by natural gas leaks, (ii) the testing and maintenance of smoke detecting devices, carbon monoxide detecting devices and, if natural gas detecting devices are required to be installed in such dwelling unit by rules promulgated by the commissioner of buildings, natural gas detecting devices, (iii) what to do if such devices alert, (iv) the useful life of such devices, (v) the owner’s duty to replace such devices pursuant to article 312 of title 28 and (vi) the occupant’s duty to maintain and repair such devices that are battery-operated and within such occupant’s dwelling unit and replace any or all such devices within such dwelling unit that are stolen, removed, found missing or rendered inoperable during such occupant’s occupancy of such dwelling unit; provided that the information provided in accordance with this paragraph may include material that is distributed by the manufacturer or material prepared or approved by the department of buildings; except that this paragraph shall not apply to class B multiple dwellings or smoke detecting devices in private dwellings.
Source Link - 9 N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 17-506.1(b)(1) & (b)(2)
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1. Upon adoption of a smoking policy, the owner of a class A multiple dwelling shall provide a copy of the building’s smoking policy to all tenants or post, in a prominent location within such dwelling, a copy of the building’s smoking policy.
2. Except as provided in paragraph 3 of this subdivision, the owner of a class A multiple dwelling shall incorporate the building’s smoking policy into any agreement to rent or lease a dwelling unit in such building.
Source Link - 10 N.Y.C. Rules § 12-02
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(a) All leases offered to tenants in multiple dwellings shall contain, as a rider to the lease, a notice the form and content of which shall be as specified in Appendix A hereto.
(b) Said notice shall be printed in not less than ten (10) point type, and shall bear the title “Window Guard Required” underlined and in bold face.
(c) Said notice shall be separately signed and dated by the tenant who signed the lease indicating clearly whether a child ten years of age or under is, or will be, residing in the leased premises.
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