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New York room rental agreement
Written for New York law, checked October 1, 2026 General information, not legal advice
Rentari offers a general room-rental agreement form, but it is not tailored to New York or every local rule. Review the room, shared spaces, occupancy requirements, and applicable New York and city rules before using a form. The state table below covers selected deposit and entry rules, not every room-rental requirement.
New York rules that apply
- Security deposit limit
- 1 month's rent
- includes any advance, such as last month's rent
- N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(a)
- Entry notice
- None set
- no state statute sets a fixed period, so the lease should
- N.Y. Real Prop. Law art. 7
Security deposit limit
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)
More detail (3)
- 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)
The Rentari New York lease states the deposit amount and says it may not exceed one month's rent.
Landlord entry
Not set by statuteNo New York statute sets a fixed notice period before a landlord enters a rented home, so the lease should set one. Statutes do require 48 hours' written notice for a move-out inspection the tenant asked for and, in a manufactured home park, entry to a rented home only at reasonable hours on reasonable notice.
N.Y. Real Prop. Law art. 7 N.Y. Real Prop. Law art. 6-A N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(d) N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 233(j)
More detail (4)
- A requested move-out inspection needs at least 48 hours' written notice of its date and time. N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(d)
- A manufactured home park owner may enter a home it rents to the tenant only during reasonable hours on reasonable notice, and may enter a home the occupant owns without consent only in an emergency. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 233(j)
- Where the Good Cause Eviction Law applies, a tenant's unreasonable refusal of access for repairs or improvements required by law, or to show the home to a buyer or lender, is good cause for eviction. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 216(1)(f) See Good Cause Eviction Law on the New York page
- New York City's own housing code was not read for this page. N.Y. Real Prop. Law art. 7
As a term of the lease, you enter only on at least 24 hours' written notice and at reasonable times, except in an emergency.