How to become a landlord in New York

Every New York residential lease must state, conspicuously and in bold, whether the home has a maintained and operative sprinkler system, and if it does, the date it was last maintained and inspected. Every lease must also carry the flood history and risk notice and the Good Cause Eviction Law notice, which says whether that law covers the unit and, if not, why. If the property has three or fewer rental units, you must state in bold before signing whether any required certificate of occupancy is currently valid for the unit (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 231-a; N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 231-b; N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 231-c; N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-bb).

• The Good Cause Eviction Law notice must be appended to or included in every initial lease and renewal lease, and in the rent increase and non-renewal notice, the 14-day rent demand and an eviction petition (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 231-c(1)).
• Giving the tenant a copy of the valid certificate of occupancy satisfies the certificate rule, and a tenant cannot waive it (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-bb).
• Within 72 hours of learning of a bed bug infestation, notify the tenants directly above, below and next to the unit in writing, or post a notice for a common area (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-j).
• For the flood notice itself, see the flood disclosure topic (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 231-b).See Flood disclosure on the New York page

No statute read requires a lease to name the owner or a managing agent. Owners of multiple dwellings covered by the Multiple Dwelling Law must file a registration notice giving their name, address and a description of the building. In New York City, which requires registration by local law, an unregistered owner cannot recover rent until it registers. When you sell or assign a property, you must tell each tenant by registered or certified mail the name and address of whoever now holds the deposit (N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 325; N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-105; N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 325(2)).

• A small landlord claiming the Good Cause exemption in an eviction case must give the tenant the names of all owners and the units they own (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 214(1)).See Good Cause Eviction Law on the New York page
• A buyer with no record of a deposit must tell the tenant within 30 days of closing, and the tenant then has 30 days to show proof of it (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(2)(c)).

Every residential lease must say whether any part of the premises is in a FEMA floodplain, in the 100-year floodplain, or in the 500-year floodplain on FEMA's current maps, and describe any prior flood damage from a natural flood that you know or reasonably should know about. It must also include, word for word, the statute's notice that flood insurance is available to renters through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 231-b).

• The prior damage answer covers damage from heavy rainfall, coastal storm surge, tidal inundation or river overflow, and the nature of that damage (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 231-b(1)(d)).
• The required renter's insurance sentence must appear in the lease exactly as the statute sets it out (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 231-b(2)).

State law directs the building code to require an operable smoke alarm in every one or two-family home and in condominium and cooperative homes, placed so it can be heard in each bedroom with the doors closed, and alarms in common areas shared by three or more units. It also requires an operable carbon monoxide detector in homes and multiple dwellings that have a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage. The building code's own detailed rules were not read (N.Y. Exec. Law § 378(5-a); N.Y. Exec. Law § 378(5-b)).

• Battery-operated smoke alarms are allowed (N.Y. Exec. Law § 378(5-b)).
• In New York City, disabling an installed smoke detector can, after a court order and inspection, become grounds for eviction with a ten-day cure period (N.Y. Real Prop. Actions & Proc. Law § 711(6)).

No statute read requires particular locks in every rental. In multiple dwellings covered by the Multiple Dwelling Law, a tenant may install an extra lock on the unit's entrance door, no more than three inches around, without paying any fee, and must give you a duplicate key if you ask. Newer apartment buildings under that law need self-closing, self-locking entrance doors, and an intercom at eight or more apartments (N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 51-c; N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 50-a).

• You may not charge more than 110 percent of the actual cost for copies of the keys to a home, unless the tenant needs copies more than three times in a calendar year (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-i).
• The entrance door and intercom rules apply to class A multiple dwellings built or converted after January 1, 1968, and to older class A multiple dwellings once tenants of a majority of the apartments request or consent in writing; failing to install and maintain them is a misdemeanor (N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 50-a(1); N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 50-a(2); N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 50-a(3); N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 50-a(5)).

A security deposit or advance may not be more than one month's rent. The limit covers any money deposited or paid in advance, so last month's rent collected at signing counts toward it. The exceptions are a registered seasonal use unit and an owner-occupied cooperative apartment; the section also does not reach units under the city rent and rehabilitation law or emergency rent control, or licensed care and senior retirement communities (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(a)).

• Rent stabilized units and units under the Emergency Tenant Protection Act have the same one-month limit and the same return and inspection rules under their own section (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-107).
• A seasonal use unit qualifies only if the lease states its registration with the local registry, limits occupancy to 120 days or less and gives the tenant's primary residence address, and the unit is not rented seasonally for more than 120 days a year (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(4); N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(5)).
• Any lease term waiving these deposit rights is void (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(3)).

A deposit stays the tenant's money. Hold it in trust and never mix it with your own funds. If you put it in a bank, the bank must have a place of business in New York, and you must tell each tenant in writing the bank's name and address and the amount deposited. For a property with six or more family dwelling units, the deposit must go into an interest-bearing account at a New York bank earning the prevailing local rate. In any building, interest the deposit earns belongs to the tenant, less 1 percent a year you may keep as an administration fee from an interest-bearing account (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-103).

• From an interest-bearing account you may keep an amount equal to 1 percent a year of the deposit as administration expenses, in place of all other custodial charges. The rest of the interest belongs to the tenant, held in trust or paid to the tenant each year (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-103(2)).
• If the lease ends between the bank's interest dates, pay the tenant whatever interest you can collect at that point (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-103(2-b)).
• A lease term waiving any of these rules is void (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-103(3)).

After the lease is signed and before the tenant moves in, you must offer the tenant a joint inspection. If the tenant asks for it, you both sign a written agreement before move-in noting any existing defects or damage, and you cannot deduct from the deposit for anything it lists (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(c)).

• The move-in agreement can be used as evidence of the starting condition only in a dispute over the deposit (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(c)).
• Within a reasonable time after either side gives notice to end the tenancy, tell the tenant in writing of the right to ask for an inspection before moving out and to be present, unless the tenant gave less than two weeks' notice (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(d)).
• A requested move-out inspection happens no earlier than two weeks and no later than one week before the tenancy ends, on at least 48 hours' written notice. Afterward, give the tenant an itemized statement of the repairs or cleaning you propose to deduct, and the tenant may fix them before moving out (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(d)).

Before or at the start of a tenancy you may not charge any application, processing or other fee except to cover a background check and credit check. That charge may not exceed the actual cost or $20, whichever is less. You must waive it if the applicant gives you a background or credit check done in the past 30 days, and you may not collect it unless you give the applicant a copy of the check and the screening company's receipt or invoice (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a(1)).

• A lease or agreement that waives these fee limits is void (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a(3)).
• You may not refuse to rent to someone because they were involved in a past or pending landlord and tenant case. Pulling a screening report or court records and then refusing to rent is presumed to violate this rule, and the Attorney General may seek a penalty of $500 to $1,000 for each violation (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 227-f).
• You may not refuse to rent to someone, or set different terms, because of their status as a victim of domestic violence (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 227-d; N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(5)(a)).
• An application form or inquiry that expresses a limitation based on a protected class is itself unlawful (N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(5)(a)(3)).
• Special cooperative rules apply when an applicant will become a unit owner or shareholder: screening charges may exceed $20 up to actual cost, with reasonable, agency-approved charges for cooperatives subject to the listed Private Housing Finance Law articles. Certain other cooperatives may also recover necessary managing or transfer-agent application-processing charges. Check the corporation and transaction before using these exceptions for a rental (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a(1)(a), (b)).
• In New York City, covered providers choosing a criminal check must first assess noncriminal eligibility, commit a unit through a written conditional offer, and give the Commission's rights notice. Housing with at most two rooms or units where the provider or family lives in one is exempt; legally authorized checks in funded housing have limited exceptions (NYC Commission on Human Rights: Fair Chance Housing coverage and offers).
• City review is limited to qualifying felonies within five years of release (or sentencing without incarceration), misdemeanors within three, and convictions requiring current sex-offender registration. Excluded records include arrests, pending cases, and sealed or expunged matters. Consult the city's full exclusions before ordering a report (NYC Commission on Human Rights: reviewable history).
• Before revoking an offer based on reviewable history, give the reviewed information, allow five business days for a response, keep the unit available, and assess the applicant's individual information. Revocation requires a written explanation connecting that history and circumstances to a specific legitimate business interest (NYC Commission on Human Rights: Fair Chance Housing process).