3

I have a question regarding tenant's rights under a leased property; I can't seem to find the answer anywhere online.

What are the obligations of a tenant in a 1yr lease to provide notice of vacating the premises by the end of the lease, if there is no language in the lease describing such a notice? In other words, is there New York City or New York State law that requires a minimum notice to be given to the landlord if the lease is not to be renewed?

Any help is greatly appreciated! I have tried to look in Article 7 under real property laws (Landlord and Tenant laws) but cannot find any relevant language!

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

What are the obligations of a tenant in a 1yr lease to provide notice of vacating the premises by the end of the lease, if there is no language in the lease describing such a notice?

Apparently there is none as long as the tenant leaves the property by the expiration date. The closest statutory provision in this regard is section 232-C of article 7, which addresses leases of "term longer than one month". That statute does not require the tenant to give notice.

In the more difficult scenario of a tenant requesting to be released from a lease, section 226-B mentions a 30-day period of forced release if the landlord unreasonably withholds consent. However, a tenant's decision not to renew a lease does not need landlord's consent, whence the guidance from section 226-B seems unnecessary.

Improve this answer
0

If the lease is for a rent-stabilized apartment, the landlord must deliver a renewal form which offers renewal (between 90 and 150 days before the end of the lease, depending). The tenant has 60 days from receipt of the offer to select 1 year, 2 year, or no renewal and return the form to the landlord. The defines when the tenant must accept or reject the offer.

In case the unit is a market-rate apartment, according to this source, it primarily depends on what the offer or lease says. Then,

If neither the offer nor the lease agreement specify the duration of the offer, then principles of contract law govern.

“An offer that is not irrevocable does not stay open indefinitely. Although an offer does not specify the time by which acceptance must be made, the offer is deemed to be open and available to be accepted for a reasonable time unless sooner revoked. If such reasonable time has passed, the offer is deemed to have lapsed and cannot be accepted.” (New York Practice Series – New York Contract Law § 2:8).

If you do not accept the offer, you have no further legal obligation other than to be gone at the end of the lease period.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .