A lease agreement is a legal document that outlinesthe terms of renting a property, including rent, rules and the lease term.
With Lumr’s lease agreement template, you can include all the necessary details for New York lease agreements and make a document that's ready to print and sign in minutes.
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What Is a New York Lease Agreement?
A lease agreement outlines what a tenant owes andwhat a landlord provides when renting a property in New York. It becomes binding as soon as both parties sign it.
A New York residential lease agreement form generally includes:
Move-in and lease-end dates
The monthly rent and due date
The security deposit amount and where it's held
Who covers repairs and which utilities fall to the tenant
Whether pets, guests, or subletting are restricted
A commercial lease agreement for New York swaps in business terms instead, covered further down.
This form typically works statewide. However, New York City adds extra protections, so a rental there may come with a few additional rules beyond what's covered here.
Mandatory Landlord Disclosures for New York Lease Agreements
Certain disclosures are mandatory in this form, as outlined in the table below:
Disclosure
Requirement
Security deposit terms
Held in a bank within the state; buildings with six or more units must earn interest at the prevailing rate, paid out to the tenant.
Bed bug history
Written notice to tenants near a known infestation within 72 hours, plus a posted notice in shared areas.
Lead-based paint
Required under federal law for any unit built before 1978.
The security deposit rule comes from GOL § 7-103. Skipping it could cost you more than the deposit itself if a dispute lands in court.
Local rules can add further requirements. Confirm what’s required in your case before finalizing anything.
Types of New York Lease Agreement
The type of lease agreement you should use typically depends on how long the tenant plans to stay, rather than the type of property.
A rental lease agreement for New York State generally falls into one of six categories:
Standard lease: A fixed term set upfront, one year being the most common length.
Month-to-month lease: Continues monthly until either side ends it.
Rent-to-own lease: Combines renting now with an option to buy later.
Room rental agreement: One bedroom, with the rest of the home shared.
Sublease agreement: The current tenant hands the unit, or part of it, to someone new.
Commercial lease: Covers business space rather than a home.
Standard Lease Agreement in New York
In a standard lease agreement, verbal terms hold up fine for a year or less. Cross that line and New York's statute of frauds requires the lease to be in writing before either side can enforce it.
When a landlord decides not to offer a new term, the same tiered notice that governs a month-to-month tenancy applies here too, detailed in the next section.
If you want to end a New York month-to-month lease agreement, RPL § 226-c states that the required notice scales with how long the tenant has lived there:
30 days under one year
60 days for one to two years
90 days beyond that
These same notice periods generally apply when the landlord plans to increase the rent by 5% or more.
New York's roommate law (RPL § 235-f) lets a tenant bring in one additional occupant, plus immediate family and any dependent children, without asking the landlord first.
The tenant must report the new occupant's name within 30 days of move-in, or within 30 days of the landlord asking.
A formal room rental agreement is still worth having when the arrangement goes beyond that, since it spells out rent splits and shared-space rules a roommate arrangement alone doesn't cover.
The security deposit cap and disclosure rules above apply to a single room as they do to a full apartment.
A tenant in a building with four or more units can request permission to sublet under RPL § 226-b.
They should send the landlord a certified letter naming the subtenant and sublease term, and the landlord has 30 days to respond. Silence counts as consent.
Refusing without a good reason doesn't end the matter either. A tenant can go ahead with the sublease anyway and recover legal costs if the refusal turns out to have been made in bad faith.
A commercial lease follows completely different rules from a residential lease in New York.
Contract law, not the residential protections covered above, sets the rules once a New York commercial lease agreement is on the table.
The sublease consent process above doesn't apply here either. A commercial lease sets its own assignment and subletting terms. It can also rule them out entirely.
Rent increases and renewal terms are negotiated from scratch too, with no statutory floor to fall back on.
Creating a lease agreement takes about seven steps with Lumr’s customizable template. You can complete the entire process online in just a few minutes.
List every tenant
List every tenant who'll sign alongside the landlord. Include a phone number or email for each.
Note the property
Note the property's full address and unit number. If the lease includes a parking spot or storage space, include this too. You can also mention any furnishings that come with the unit.
Fix the term
Fixed-term leases need both a start and end date. Leave the end date blank and add renewal terms instead if this is a month-to-month arrangement.
Set rent and deposit terms
State the rent and due date, plus which payment methods you'll accept. Then cap the deposit at one month's rent and note where it's held.
Assign utilities and repairs
Assign each utility bill to either party, and note who's responsible for repairs versus routine upkeep.
Add the required disclosures
Attach the bed bug and lead paint notices above, and note where you'll hold the security deposit.
Sign and distribute copies
Both sides need to sign before it's official. Keep a signed copy on file and give the other to the tenant, and you'll have a New York apartment lease agreement ready for move-in.
FAQ
FAQs About New York Lease Agreement
Have questions about the process or what to include in your document? Find answers to some common questions below.
Is a lease agreement legally binding in New York?
Yes, as long as both sides sign and nothing in it breaks the law.
New York requires a written lease only for terms longer than a year. Shorter lease agreements can be made by handshake and still be enforced.
Does a lease agreement need to be notarized in New York?
No. New York doesn't require one on a residential lease of any length.
A landlord can still request it as extra proof of identity, but it isn't required.
How quickly must a landlord return a security deposit in New York?
A landlord has 14 days after the tenant moves out to send the deposit back with an itemized list of deductions, or forfeit the right to keep any of it.
What is the maximum late fee a landlord can charge in New York?
Under state law, you can charge no more than $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is lower, and only after the payment is five days past due.
Does a landlord need to provide notice before entering the property in New York?
New York's rule is general: notice at a reasonable time, for a reasonable purpose, with no set number of hours attached. Most leases fill that gap with their own clause, commonly requiring 24 hours.
What is the maximum security deposit a landlord can charge in New York?
One month's rent, with narrow exceptions for seasonal rentals and certain owner-occupied co-ops. A tenant can't be asked to pay more upfront.
Can a tenant sublet their apartment in New York?
In a building with four or more units, yes. However, they must follow the consent process outlined above. Rent-stabilized units and a few other categories follow different rules, so it's worth checking the lease itself first.
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