Roommate Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what New York law says, what's specific to New York City - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- You may add one occupant plus their dependent children without landlord consent (RPL § 235-f).
- Give the landlord the occupant's name within 30 days of move-in or of a landlord request.
- A clause limiting occupancy to named tenants and immediate family is unenforceable as against public policy.
- In a rent-stabilized NYC unit, a roommate may not be charged more than a proportionate share of the legal rent.
- If you move out for good, your occupant has no right to stay without written landlord consent.
Understanding the Roommate Clause
This page is for New York City renters who want a partner, friend or roommate to move in, or already have one, and need to know what the lease can stop and what they owe the landlord. Many leases say only the tenants named may live there.
New York's Roommate Law overrides that wording for one added occupant. The city adds a rent rule for stabilized apartments, and the protection ends when the named tenant moves out.
What renters assume
A lease that says only the named tenants may live there means you must ask the landlord before a partner moves in.
What is actually true
That clause is unenforceable in New York. Under RPL § 235-f, you may add one occupant without consent. You owe the landlord a notice with the person's name, not a request for permission.
New York and Seattle both show 30 days on this chart, but only New York's comes from state law - Seattle's is a municipal code that stops at the city line. Austin, Miami, and Phoenix read no statute, which leaves the lease in charge, and Florida has gone further by preempting Miami from writing its own rule.
Roommate Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in New York City, NY
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
Below is the first sentence of an apartment lease's reimbursement paragraph, printed as the court printed it and stopping short of the rest.
REIMBURSEMENT. You must promptly reimburse us for loss, damage, or cost of repairs or service caused anywhere in the apartment community by your or any guest's or occupant's improper use or negligence. […]
Quoted from the published opinion in Churchill Forge, Inc. v. Brown, 61 S.W.3d 368 (Tex. 2001). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
“promptly”
The lease sets the pace for money and gives no number. New York gives a number, but for a different duty: 30 days to give the landlord the name of an occupant who has moved in, and 30 days from a landlord's request if they ask for it. Keep the two apart. Meeting the naming deadline protects your right to have the person there and does nothing about a reimbursement demand; paying a reimbursement demand does nothing about the naming deadline.
See the example
“for loss, damage”
Rent and damage are separate pots, and New York City regulates only one of them. In a rent-stabilized unit a roommate may not be charged more than a proportionate share of the legal rent - the share is measured against the legal regulated rent, not against whatever a second bedroom would fetch on the open market. No rule in our New York record caps what a reimbursement paragraph like this one may seek, so the protection sits on the rent side and stops there.
“apartment community”
The clause covers the whole property, and it is worth reading next to the limit New York puts on an occupant's position. The occupant you are entitled to bring in gains no right to remain once the named tenant permanently vacates, unless the landlord consents in writing. So the person can be there lawfully, their presence can cost you under this sentence, and they still hold nothing of their own in the apartment once you go.
See the example
“occupant's improper use”
New York's roommate law gives you a person you are entitled to have living there without asking permission; this paragraph routes that same person's conduct straight to your account. The statute and the lease are pulling in opposite directions on the identical set of people. Both survive: having the right to the roommate is not the same as being insulated from what the roommate does, and nothing in our New York record reaches that second question.
The co-signer's defence failed. JoAnn Brown signed an apartment lease as a cotenant with her adult son. He was alleged to have started a fire that damaged the complex, the landlord sued only her, and she argued she could not be charged for damage she had not caused. The Texas Supreme Court disagreed, reversed the summary judgment she had won and held this sentence enforceable against a cotenant who was not herself negligent. The route ran through two sections. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052(b) gives a landlord no duty to repair damage caused by the tenant, an occupant or a guest, so § 92.006(e) had no repair duty to stop the parties contracting over; and the fair-notice doctrine did not apply, because the sentence does not shift the landlord's own negligence onto the tenant. The court added that neither statute, common law nor the Restatement bars “requiring a tenant to reimburse the landlord for damages negligently caused by the tenant or one occupying the premises with the tenant's consent.” A dissent would have held the sentence unenforceable outright because it was not underlined or conspicuous, as § 92.006(e)(4) requires. This is 2001 Texas law, decided on the Texas Property Code - state-specific, and not a national rule.
How this state's law treats this clause
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
New York Law on Roommate Clause
- Lease clauses restricting occupancy to named tenants and immediate family are unenforceable as against public policy.
- A lease naming one tenant permits that tenant, immediate family, one additional occupant, and the occupant's dependent children.
- The tenant must tell the landlord the occupant's name within 30 days of move-in or within 30 days of a landlord request.
- An occupant gains no right to remain once the named tenant permanently vacates without written landlord consent.
Sources include N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-f - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Count it for your dates
30 days: when does it end?
What it means: Give the landlord the occupant's name by this date. Sending it in writing gives you proof of the date. Applies to New York tenants adding one occupant plus that occupant's dependent children; if the landlord asks for the name, the 30 days run from that request instead (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-f). Calendar arithmetic only; check how the section counts days before you rely on a date.
Copy and send: Within 30 days of move-in, or within 30 days of a landlord request
Tell your landlord the occupant's name
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
New York's Roommate Law, N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-f, works by cancelling lease wording, not by asking for permission:
- Restrictive clauses are void. A lease clause limiting occupancy to the named tenants and their immediate family is unenforceable as against public policy.
- Who a one-tenant lease covers. The tenant, the tenant's immediate family, one additional occupant, and that occupant's dependent children. No landlord approval is needed.
- Your one duty. Tell the landlord the occupant's name within 30 days of move-in, or within 30 days of the landlord asking.
- Where it stops. The occupant gains no right to stay once the named tenant permanently moves out, unless the landlord consents in writing.
A second unrelated roommate falls outside the one-occupant rule. Statutes change, so read the current text of § 235-f before you rely on it.
What's Specific to New York City
How New York compares
Deadline to notify the landlord of a new roommate, state by state
30 daysNo figureGuide coming soonYou are here
See all 25 cities as a chart
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
New York City adds a rent rule. In a rent-stabilized apartment, a roommate may not be charged more than a proportionate share of the legal regulated rent.
The split is measured against the regulated figure, not the market rate. To learn whether your unit is stabilized, order its rent history from HCR.
If management asks for an application, a credit check or a lease amendment for your added occupant, no section we read requires one.
It should. You owe the landlord the occupant's name within 30 days, and a written address shows where you sent it.
A fair New York lease says so. It shows the landlord knows you may add one occupant without asking.
§ 235-f lets you add one occupant without consent. You owe the landlord notice of the name, not a request.
Ask which law allows it. No section we read sets an occupant fee, and a stabilized roommate owes only a proportionate share.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-f on nysenate.gov, New York's own publication of its statutes.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Occupancy limited to named tenants
Common lease wording, and unenforceable in New York. § 235-f voids clauses limiting occupancy to named tenants and their immediate family.
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Landlord consent required first
The statute asks for notice, not consent. You send the occupant's name within 30 days, and the landlord does not get an approval vote.
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Roommate must pass screening
No section we read lets a landlord screen your one added occupant. Your duty under § 235-f is the occupant's name, within 30 days.
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Automatic rent bump per occupant
A per-head surcharge written into the lease. In a rent-stabilized unit, a roommate cannot be charged more than a proportionate share of the legal regulated rent.
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Eviction threatened over an unnamed occupant
The clause treats a late name as a default. Send the occupant's name in writing right away and keep proof of the date you sent it.
Your Rights as a New York City Tenant
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One occupant, no permission needed
RPL § 235-f lets you add one occupant plus that person's dependent children. Landlord approval is not required.
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Restrictive occupancy clauses are void
Lease wording that limits occupancy to named tenants and immediate family is unenforceable, so it cannot be used against you.
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Thirty days to give the name
You have 30 days from move-in, or 30 days from the landlord's request, to give the occupant's name.
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Proportionate share if stabilized
In a rent-stabilized NYC unit, a roommate may not be charged more than a proportionate share of the legal regulated rent.
What To Do - Step by Step
Read the occupancy paragraph
See who the lease says may live there. A limit to named tenants and immediate family is unenforceable in New York.
Confirm you have room
§ 235-f covers you, your immediate family, one added occupant and that person's dependent children. A second unrelated roommate falls outside it.
Send the name in writing
Email or letter, dated, naming the occupant. You have 30 days from move-in, or from the landlord's request.
Keep proof of delivery
Save the sent email or the certified mail receipt. If the notice is ever disputed, the date you sent it is your proof.
Check your stabilization status
Order the rent history from HCR. If the unit is stabilized, a roommate may not be charged more than a proportionate share of the legal regulated rent.
Get help if you're pressured
If a landlord threatens eviction or fees over a lawful occupant, call 311 or a tenant attorney. Bring the lease and your written notice.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Roommate rules near New York
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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