7 Important Facts About New York Landlord and Tenant Laws

Tenant-landlord relationships can be rocky and hard to navigate, especially when legal matters come into play. But the fact is, tenants have rights. The problem is that many tenants don’t understand what rights they have, and because they don’t know their rights, they can’t discern when a landlord is overstepping his or her legal boundaries.

If you’re a tenant in New York, this post is here to help you get informed — especially now that rent laws in New York have changed. Here are some important facts to know about the New York Landlord-Tenant law.

1. My landlord said he cut off my utilities because I complained about some needed repairs in the apartment. Can he do that?  

No. It is illegal for a landlord to cut off utilities.

As part of NY state law, landlords are required to provide a safe and livable environment for their tenants. In addition to the proper security measures, the provision of utilities falls under this category of “safe” and “livable.” Unless a specific court order spells it out, know that your landlord cannot just decide to cut off your electricity, water, or heat.  

Indeed, property owners in New York are absolutely required by law to provide hot water for 365 days a year at a minimum temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Have you watched Disney’s Frozen? Do you want to build a snowman? In your home? Hopefully, your apartment doesn’t look like Elsa came for a visit, because landlords are obligated to provide heat to their tenants between October 1st and May 31st under certain specific conditions.  

If your landlord cuts off your utilities or fails to provide them in the proper conditions, he is not fulfilling his duty and responsibility as a landlord.

2. My landlord keeps threatening to kick me out. Does he have legal right to do that?

No. It is illegal for a landlord to simply evict a tenant.

Are your padlocks changed? Are your clothes, books, and furniture outside in a flaming pit over which your landlord is cooking sausages? While such an occurrence would be quite the sight, your landlord can’t just kick you out and tell you that you have to leave — especially if the lease is not up. Learn why reviewing a lease before you sign is so important.

There are specific conditions under which a landlord can move a tenant out of his property: 1) If the written lease between a landlord or tenant is up, 2) If a tenant withholds rent from the landlord, or 3) If a tenant has severely violated the lease.

Even when these conditions are met, the landlord must take the tenant to court, win, and receive a court order called a “Warrant of Eviction.”

Outside of all these preconditions, a landlord’s methods to evict a tenant are illegal. A letter from either a landlord or the landlord’s lawyer is never enough to evict a tenant. If your landlord’s approach to getting you to move out is through methods previously listed such as cutting off your utilities or locking you out, understand that is illegal according to the New York Landlord Tenant Law.

Also, under new laws, landlords can no longer use the “owner-use” loophole — when landlords remove tenants in order to use a property as their personal residence, a common mechanism used to evict tenants and raise rent. Under new laws, tenants who have lived in a residence for more than 15 years will be protected from eviction, and landlords can now only claim one of their units as a primary residence under “owner-use”, with certain exceptions.

3. My landlord isn’t making repairs. Can I pay less in rent?

Possibly. A tenant may withhold rent from the landlord under certain conditions.

Again, a landlord has a duty to provide his tenants with livable, safe, and sanitary environments. Of course, the idea of “livable,” “safe,” and “sanitary” conditions are not fluid or arbitrary terms. These conditions do not change according to a tenant’s preferences; just because the bathroom floor is not donned with the Apple Store’s trademark Pietra Serena sandstone doesn’t mean you can withhold rent from the landlord.

Livable, safe, and sanitary means the landlord needs to properly manage the security of the building as well as maintenance of pipelines, heating systems, and electrical wires.

While withholding rent is an actual right to exercise, it should be done only in very serious cases. If there are real repairs that need to be done within the property, the tenant needs to notify the landlord. Ask when the repairs will be done. If it’s an emergency, you need to let the landlord know it is an emergency.

In the case that the landlord is slow to respond or simply does not make the repairs, send a letter requesting the repairs. If the landlord takes no action at this point, then you might want to take your own steps to fix the issue or what you may call “Repair and Deduct.”

Repair and deduct simply means you make your own repairs with what you would normally pay for rent. So instead of paying the rent, you make your own repairs and deduct the repair amount from the usual rent.  If you do decide to take this as your next step, you need to ensure that your landlord understands what you are about to do. The important thing is to give him a chance to make the repairs.

In the case that you decide to take this course of action, get some estimates before you do anything. Repairs do not mean upgrading your apartment into a nightclub or a penthouse suite!

Unless the issues within your home are severe and detrimental to your health, such as toxic sewage leaking from a pipe, try not to immediately resort to withholding rent. On a serious note, if there are electrical wires hanging out or something of the sort, you should notify your landlord immediately.

4. I asked my landlord for my security deposit and he said he spent it because he had legal right to use it to repair the building. Only thing was it was not even in my apartment. Can he do that?

Absolutely not! A security deposit is still technically a tenant’s money.

Apart from reimbursement for unpaid rent or damage to the property, the landlord does not have a right or privilege to spend the money from a tenant’s security deposit. The money you provide the landlord is still technically your money.  

Under new laws, security deposits in New York will be limited to the equivalent of one month’s rent. The landlord must provide a receipt of the deposit which details the name and address of the banking institution where he placed it as well as the amount of the deposit.  

A receipt ensures that you have knowledge that your money is safely stored away in a bank instead of the dusty shoebox under your landlord’s bed of which you can’t even be sure exists.

Understand that this deposit should be in a separate account. The landlord should not and cannot mix your deposit with his own personal money.

After a lease is up and upon vacating the premises, a tenant is entitled to get the security deposit back with interest. Under new legislation, the security deposit must be returned within 14 days of the end of occupancy. A landlord is obligated to return the security deposit regardless of whether or not the tenant specifically requests it. 

5. I’ve been paying $1,000 a month for the past year. My landlord is suddenly asking for an extra $500 a month. Shouldn’t he have let me know he was raising the rent?

Yes — under new rent laws in New York, landlords need to give tenants 30 days notice if they plan to raise the rent by 5% or more.

With the passing of new rent legislation, tenants in rent-regulated apartments will be largely protected from substantial rent increases.

Raising a tenant’s rent based on improvements to the property will be capped at 2% per year, and raising the rent on an individual unit because of renovations will now be limited and regulated in ways it hasn’t been in New York in the past. 

While landlords have been able to raise rent by as much as 20% in the past when a unit becomes vacant, or remove a unit from rent stabilization when rent crosses a certain high threshold, new legislation in New York now prevents landlords from doing that.

And, if you’ve signed a lease in a rent-stabilized apartment and your rent is less than the established legal rent, your landlord can no longer raise your rent to the full legal limit when you renew your lease. 

6. This is kind of weird, but my landlord enters my apartment from time to time. He doesn’t even knock and it really irks me! But doesn’t he technically have a right to enter because it’s his property?  

Actually, no. A landlord cannot enter a tenant’s property without proper notice.

If you have no problem with your landlord randomly entering your home, there’s no need to read this section. But if you take issue with the fact that someone has access to your home at any time and comes in periodically or perhaps even too often without notice, just know that your landlord cannot do that.

Considering the landlord is the property owner, you might reluctantly think in the back of your head that he “technically” has a legal right to enter your home at any second. Not at all.

As with many of the other things a landlord can do, he can only enter your property under — the key phrase — specific conditions. If there are repairs that need to be done or he needs to show the property to potential renters, he needs to give you a reasonable notice. If his entry is outlined in the lease, he still needs to provide you with a reasonable notice.

A landlord can only enter without notice in cases of emergency. Entering your apartment outside of these circumstances means your landlord is probably bored and just there to bother you.

7. I told my landlord that I was going to have my friend move into the apartment. After a month, he’s now telling me that I can’t have a roommate because it’s illegal and that he needs to leave immediately. Is this true?

No. A tenant can most definitely house a roommate.

In the case you do decide to have a roommate, you need to inform your landlord 30 days within your roommate moving in or upon the request of your landlord. Generally, if you’re not shooting off rockets or blasting 90s rock music at 3 a.m. with your roommate, it should be fine to have a roommate.  

In fact, a tenant is permitted to move in immediate family and one additional person and dependent children into a property. Whether or not you make any of these people pay part of the rent is up to the tenant. But because there are laws to prevent overcrowding, a landlord may limit the number of people a tenant takes in. However, make sure not to get this confused with subletting.

Subletting your apartment is a different issue and will require your landlord’s permission. Otherwise, you need to be living in your apartment to share it with a roommate or family. Subletting is essentially renting out your apartment to subtenants. In most cases, your landlord cannot unreasonably deny you subletting the apartment.  

You can see the legal NY code for subletting or read up even more on the roommate law in NY.

8. Am I responsible for paying broker fees for a real estate agent that my landlord hired?

Yes. While landlords were responsible for paying any broker fees for agents they hire in 2020, this has recently changed.

Tenants in New York have historically paid the broker fees for agents that landlords hire, but in a reversal of policy in 2020, landlords were responsible for paying any fees for brokers that they’ve hired to represent their interests. Now in 2021, the Department of State guidance has been termed which means landlords can again charge tenants this fee. New York City is one of the few rental markets with a broker industry, and broker fees can be as much as 15% of the annual lease.

More Resources on New York Landlord Tenant Laws

It’s important for all New York residents to be familiar with New York State landlord laws. Even all of the above information does not exhaust the endless list of issues that may arise between a tenant and landlord.  

Tenants’ rights and responsibilities within the tenant-landlord relationship are complex. There are a lot of resources to look to if you’re still not sure where you stand on an issue. Below is a list of some New York state-specific resources to use as guides. Happy hunting!

Tenants’ rights FAQs:

Frequently Asked Questions about New York Tenant Rights

New York Tenant Right Information from the State Attorney General

NYC Housing Preservation and Development — Tenants’ Rights and Responsibilities

New York Roommate & Subletting Laws

Metropolitan Council on Housing

New York City Rent Guidelines Board