NY · City guide

Getting your first apartment in NYC: what the law actually guarantees

New York City rentals come with a mythology of unavoidable fees and take-it-or-leave-it terms. Much of that mythology is now just illegal. Here’s what state law plus the city’s housing code actually guarantee a first-time renter in 2026.

Updated July 13, 2026 · 7 min read

The short answer

More than the market tells you. Since June 2025 (the FARE Act), the landlord’s broker can’t bill you their fee; deposits and advances are capped at one month total (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108); application fees max out at $20 or actual cost, whichever is less; and once you’re in, NYC’s Housing Maintenance Code adds a local layer — mandatory heat from October through May, 120°F hot water year-round, bedbug history disclosure before you sign, window guards on request, and an enforceable ban on landlord harassment.

Upfront costs: what’s legal to ask of you

The lawful maximum to get keys in New York is: first month’s rent + one month of deposit/advance + $20 of application fee. That’s it. The deposit cap is absolute — one month covers the security deposit and any prepaid “last month” combined — and the application fee is capped at $20 or the actual cost of the background check, whichever is less, waived entirely if you bring your own recent report.

What the law saysN.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108
No deposit or advance may exceed one month’s rent — a single combined limit. After move-out, the landlord has 14 days to return the deposit with an itemized statement; missing that deadline forfeits the right to keep any of it.
Read the official text

The math details, the 14-day forfeiture rule, and the punitive-damages provision are in our NY deposit guide.

Broker fees after the FARE Act

The famous NYC broker fee — a month’s rent (or 15% of annual rent) paid to an agent you never chose — largely died on June 11, 2025, when the city’s FARE Act took effect: whoever hires the broker pays the broker. If the agent represents the landlord or posted the landlord’s listing, their fee is the landlord’s cost, and demanding it from you is unlawful. You owe a fee only to an agent you actually engaged to search on your behalf.

What the law saysN.Y.C. Admin. Code § 20-699.21
Under the FARE Act (Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act), a broker whose services were engaged by the landlord — or who publishes the listing on the landlord’s behalf — may not collect a fee from the tenant. Landlords must also disclose all tenant-paid fees in the listing and in a signed, itemized statement before you sign. Enforcement runs through the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, with fines up to $2,000 per violation and a private right of action.
Read the official text

Two honest caveats. First, landlords may fold that cost into rent — legal, and at least visible in the advertised price. Second, watch for costume changes:

Lease language to watch for
“Tenant shall pay a one-time move-in processing and administrative services fee of $3,400 to Landlord’s leasing consultant upon lease execution.”

A broker fee renamed is still a broker fee, and “processing fees” of suspiciously one-month size are exactly what city enforcement (and 311 complaints to the consumer protection department) exist for.

The NYC layer: heat, hot water, bedbugs, window guards

On top of state law, the city’s Housing Maintenance Code adds duties your landlord owes you automatically:

  • Heat season (Oct 1–May 31): 68°F daytime when it’s under 55°F outside; 62°F overnight, always (§ 27-2029).
  • Hot water: 120°F, year-round, at every fixture (§ 27-2031).
  • Bedbug disclosure: before you sign, the owner must give you the building’s and unit’s one-year bedbug history on the state-approved form (§ 27-2018.1). Ask for it — the obligation exists whether or not anyone mentions it.
  • Window guards: mandatory where a child 10 or under lives, and on any tenant’s written request (§ 27-2043.1).
  • Harassment is illegal: pressuring tenants out via threats or repeated service shutoffs violates § 27-2005 and carries civil penalties.

The Roommate Law: your lease can’t make you live alone

What the law saysN.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-f
A lease signed by one tenant permits occupancy by the tenant, their immediate family, one additional occupant, and that occupant’s dependent children — provided the tenant keeps the unit as a primary residence. Lease clauses restricting occupancy to the named tenant alone are unenforceable.
Read the official text

In the city that invented the roommate economy, this is the statute that makes it legal. Notify the landlord of a new occupant when asked, but permission is not theirs to refuse within the statutory allowance.

Before you sign: the five-minute checks

  1. Total the move-in demand against the one-month cap and $20 fee limit.
  2. Ask who engaged the broker — in writing if any fee is on the table.
  3. Request the bedbug disclosure form and the DHCR rent history.
  4. Search the building’s open violations on HPD’s public portal.
  5. Scan the lease for the clauses those 40 pages are hiding.

Questions renters ask

What income do I need to qualify — is the 40x rent rule a law?

No — 40x monthly rent as an income screen is market practice, not statute. Landlords may screen for income, but the lawful workaround if you fall short is a guarantor (a person, often required to make 80x, or an institutional guarantor service). What IS law: the source-of-income protections — a landlord can’t reject you for using a voucher or lawful non-wage income.

How do I know if an apartment is rent-stabilized?

Roughly a million NYC units are stabilized — typically in buildings of six or more units built before 1974, though newer buildings with tax abatements qualify too. The listing won’t always say. The definitive check: request the unit’s rent history from the state housing agency (DHCR); it shows the legal regulated rent and whether the unit was properly registered. Stabilization means renewal rights and board-set increase limits, so it’s worth five minutes to find out.

When does the landlord have to turn the heat on?

Heat season is October 1 through May 31. Daytime (6 a.m.–10 p.m.): at least 68°F indoors whenever it’s below 55°F outside. Overnight: at least 62°F regardless of the outdoor temperature. Hot water at 120°F runs year-round. These are owner duties under the Housing Maintenance Code — 311 complaints create the paper trail that gets them enforced.

The lease says “no occupants other than tenant.” Enforceable?

No. New York’s Roommate Law (RPL § 235-f) overrides it: a lease signed by one tenant permits the tenant, their immediate family, one additional occupant, and that occupant’s dependent children — as long as the tenant lives there as a primary residence. Clauses restricting occupancy to the named tenant alone are unenforceable as against public policy.

Sources & statutes

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LeasePatrol provides rental law information, not legal advice, and is not a law firm. Statute summaries here describe the law as of the “updated” date above; if you're facing an eviction or a lawsuit, talk to a tenant lawyer or your local legal aid office.