Leases: leasehold estates, standard provisions, and rent-stabilized renewals
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Leasehold estates
A lease transfers possession and use, while the landlord retains ownership. The landlord is the lessor; the tenant is the lessee.
- Estate for years: a definite term, even if shorter than a year.
- Periodic tenancy: repeating periods until properly terminated.
- Tenancy at will: continuing permission without an agreed fixed term or periodic structure.
- Tenancy at sufferance: lawful entry followed by unauthorized holding over after the right to possession ends.
Read the provisions
Identify parties, premises, term, rent, due date, use, occupants, maintenance, utilities, deposits, transfers, renewal, and default remedies. A gross lease generally places operating expenses on the landlord; a net lease shifts specified expenses to the tenant in addition to rent. A percentage lease bases some rent on sales. The actual provisions determine the allocation.
An assignment transfers the entire remaining leasehold interest; a sublease leaves the tenant a retained interest. Neither necessarily releases the original tenant from liability. New York transfer rights depend on the applicable tenancy and legal requirements. Special housing categories can have different rules.
New York residential protections
The warranty of habitability covers residential premises and common areas and cannot be waived. Tenant-caused misconduct conditions are excluded. A single named tenant may have immediate family, one additional occupant, and that occupant's dependent children when the tenant or spouse maintains the primary residence.
In an ordinary residential rental, rent must remain unpaid beyond five days after it was due before a late fee may be charged. The maximum is the lesser of $50 or 5% of monthly rent. Outside New York City, a month-to-month tenant must give termination notice at least one month before the term expires. This is not the residential landlord's notice rule. Unauthorized holding over does not permit self-help eviction.
Rent-stabilized renewal
Eligible rent-stabilized tenants generally have a choice of one-year or two-year renewals, subject to lawful exceptions and regulated rent increases. Expiration alone does not remove those protections. High-rent and high-income deregulation were repealed in 2019; former thresholds are not a current route out of stabilization.
Key terms
Sample questions
Which leasehold estate has a definite beginning and ending, even when its duration is less than a year?
Reveal answer
Correct answer: Estate for years
An estate for years has a definite term. The word years does not impose a minimum one-year duration.
A tenant rents a storage unit from April 1 through September 30, with no provision for repeating terms. Which estate does the agreement create?
Reveal answer
Correct answer: Estate for years
The specific starting and ending dates create an estate for years. Monthly rent payments do not turn a fixed term into a periodic tenancy.
A rental agreement continues from month to month until properly terminated. What is this estate called?
Reveal answer
Correct answer: Periodic tenancy
A periodic tenancy continues through successive rental periods until properly terminated.