New York Residential Lease Agreement

What a New York lease must include

Standard lease elements

• Parties and the New York county + street address of the rental.
• Lease term — fixed end date or a month-to-month tenancy.
• Monthly rent amount, due date, and accepted payment methods.
• Security deposit amount, capped at one month's rent under state law.
• Utilities — which the landlord covers and which the tenant pays.
• Occupancy rules, pets, smoking, and entry procedures.
• Default, cure periods, and termination language permitted under state law.
• Signatures of all parties.

New York-required disclosures

• Sprinkler-system disclosure — a conspicuous notice in every residential lease stating whether the premises contains a maintained and operative sprinkler system, and (if so) the date of the most recent inspection. (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 231-A)
• Move-in inspection offer — after signing, the landlord must offer the tenant the chance to inspect the premises together and document its condition before the tenant takes occupancy. (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(c))
• Pre-move-out inspection right — on 48 hours' notice, the landlord must conduct a walk-through before the tenant vacates so curable items can be identified. (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(d))
• Federal lead-paint disclosure and EPA pamphlet for any unit built before 1978. (42 U.S.C. § 4852d; 24 C.F.R. Part 35)
• For buildings with six or more units, the deposit must be held in an interest-bearing New York bank account paying the prevailing rate, with the accrued interest paid to the tenant (less a 1% administrative fee). (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-103(2)(a))

New York-specific workflow

• Security deposit capped at one month's rent; demanding more is a statutory violation. N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(a).
• Return the deposit (with an itemized statement of any deductions) within 14 days of move-out. Missing the window forfeits the right to withhold any portion. § 7-108(1-a)(e).
• Late fees: no more than $50 or 5% of monthly rent, whichever is less; and no late fee at all until rent is 5+ days overdue. A certified-mail notice of non-receipt is required before pursuing a fee. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a(2).
• Rent increases of 5% or more — and non-renewals — require tiered advance notice: 30 days for tenancies under 12 months, 60 days for 12–24 months, 90 days for 24+ months. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 226-c.
• Month-to-month termination follows the same 30/60/90-day tiering based on how long the tenant has lived in the unit.
• Warranty of habitability is implied in every residential lease and cannot be waived. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-b.
• New York applies a reasonable-notice standard for non-emergency landlord entry (no statewide hour minimum). Leases typically specify 24 to 48 hours.

N.Y. Attorney General — Tenants' Rights Guide

How a New York lease is structured

1. The document opens with parties, county, and the rental-property address (including a unit count that drives the 6+ unit interest-bearing-account branch).
2. The term section identifies the arrangement as fixed-term with an end date or as month-to-month.
3. The rent section sets the monthly amount, due date, accepted payment methods, and NSF/stop-payment handling.
4. The security-deposit section records the amount and, when the building has six or more units, the specific interest-bearing-account language required by § 7-103(2)(a).
5. A dedicated move-in inspection clause captures the landlord's mandatory offer to inspect the premises with the tenant; the pre-move-out walk-through right is documented in the same section.
6. Late-fee, rent-increase-notice, and termination-notice clauses carry the statutory caps and the 30/60/90-day tier language from RPL §§ 238-a(2) and 226-c.
7. A conspicuous sprinkler-system disclosure closes the document body (RPL § 231-A), followed by signatures.

BuildMyLease assembles all of this for you in a guided interview.

Free New York lease template vs BuildMyLease

Free New York lease templates exist, but most pre-date the HSTPA rewrite or skip the sprinkler disclosure entirely. Here is the honest side-by-side.

Who this is for

This is for

• New York landlords managing 1–4 private-market units (single-family, condo, small multi-family) that are NOT rent-regulated.
• Owners who want HSTPA-era deposit + late-fee + tiered-notice + sprinkler-disclosure language included without researching each statute.
• Landlords issuing a new fixed-term lease OR a month-to-month that needs the 30/60/90-day notice framing.

This isn't for

• Units subject to NYC rent stabilization or rent control — those follow the Rent Stabilization Law / Rent Stabilization Code.
• Units covered by the Emergency Tenant Protection Act in Nassau, Westchester, or Rockland counties.
• Co-op and condo sublease arrangements, which include separate board-approval workflows.
• Commercial leases, mobile-home parks, hotel/motel transient arrangements.
• Ongoing eviction or holdover proceedings — those require court forms, not a lease.