Renting a condo or co-op apartment in NYC

When you rent a condo or co-op apartment in New York City, your landlord is usually one owner, but the building's board also has a say. Expect an extra application to the board, building fees and house rules. In a co-op you are technically subletting from a shareholder, so the board must approve you. Most core tenant protections still apply: habitability, the one-month deposit cap and the $20 screening fee limit.

What you lose is mainly what depends on the building type. Condo and co-op homes aren't covered by Good Cause Eviction, and a co-op sublet can end if the board stops approving it. Here's how each piece works, and what to ask before you sign.

Rental building vs condo vs co-op: what changes

The board application

Condo and co-op buildings run on governing documents: bylaws and house rules for condos, a proprietary lease and bylaws for co-ops. Those documents decide whether rentals are allowed, for how long, and what the board reviews. Expect to provide some or all of these:

• A completed building application, often through the managing agent's online portal.
• A signed copy of your lease with the owner, sometimes on the building's required form or with a rider.
• Income and employment documents, bank statements, references and photo ID.
• Agreement to the house rules, plus move-in scheduling and the movers' insurance certificate. See certificates of insurance for movers.
• For co-ops, sometimes an interview, though many boards approve renters on paperwork alone.

Approval can take a few days to several weeks depending on the building. Make your lease conditional on board approval so that if the board says no, you get your money back and aren't bound.

Fees: what's legal and what's unclear

New York's Real Property Law § 238-a bars a landlord from charging you to process an application. A landlord may charge for a background and credit check, but only the actual cost or $20, whichever is less, and must waive it if you bring a report from the past 30 days. The statute's carve-outs for co-ops apply when the applicant would become a shareholder, meaning a buyer. As a renter, you aren't one.

• Security deposit: your deposit to the owner is capped at one month's rent, and must be returned with an itemized statement within 14 days after you move out (General Obligations Law § 7-108). The co-op exception in that law covers only a shareholder living in their own unit, not a renter. See security deposit rules.
• Broker fee: under the FARE Act, in effect since June 11, 2025, a broker hired by the landlord can't charge you. When an owner lists their condo through an agent, the owner is the landlord. You still pay if you hired your own broker. See do I owe a broker fee?
• Fee disclosure: under the FARE Act, the landlord or their agent must give you an itemized written list of every fee you must pay to rent the apartment, and you sign that disclosure before you sign the lease.
• Late fees: capped at $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less (RPL § 238-a).

Add it up before you commit with the NYC move-in cost calculator.

Co-op sublets: why they're less stable

In most NYC rentals, a tenant in a building with four or more units has a legal right to sublet with the landlord's consent, which can't be unreasonably withheld (RPL § 226-b). That law specifically excludes proprietary leases, so a co-op shareholder has no statutory right to sublet. Their right comes only from the co-op's rules. That has consequences for you:

• Boards often cap how long or how often an owner can sublet, and may approve one year at a time.
• A renewal may need fresh board approval, and the board can say no even if the owner wants you to stay.
• If the owner rents to you without approval, the co-op can act against the owner, and you can be caught in the middle.

Ask the owner for the board's written approval of your tenancy and the sublet policy. For the owner's side of the rules, see co-op sublet rules.

Protections that still apply

• Habitability: every residential lease, written or oral, carries a warranty that the home and common areas are fit to live in. It can't be waived. Your claim is against your landlord, the unit owner, even when the cause is a building system the board controls.
• Heat and hot water: city heat rules apply to apartment buildings, condos and co-ops included. See heat and hot water rules.
• Discrimination laws: owners, boards and brokers are bound by fair housing and source-of-income laws.
• No self-help eviction: an owner must go through court to remove you; lockouts and utility shut-offs are illegal (RPAPL § 768).

What's different

• Good Cause Eviction: HPD lists homes in condo and co-op buildings as not covered. Your owner can generally decline to renew at the end of the lease, and there's no Good Cause cap on renewal increases.
• Rent stabilization: most condo and co-op rentals are market rate. The exception is a building converted from rentals: tenants who didn't buy and were rent regulated keep that status under General Business Law § 352-eeee. If you're taking over such a unit, request the rent history.
• Two decision-makers for repairs: inside the unit it's usually the owner; pipes, roof, facade and boiler are the building's. Ask who to call for each, and get the managing agent's contact.
• No short-term subletting: co-op and condo boards can put their whole building on the city's Prohibited Buildings List for short-term rentals, and even where they haven't, renting out a whole apartment for under 30 days is illegal. See NYC short-term rental law.

Before you sign: a five-step check

1. 1

   Confirm who owns the unit

   Check the deed on ACRIS to make sure the person signing the lease owns the apartment (or, for a co-op, ask for the stock certificate or proprietary lease). Rental scams often target owner listings. See rental scam red flags.
2. 2

   Ask for the building’s rental rules

   Get the sublet or leasing policy, the board fee schedule, move-in deposit rules and house rules in writing.
3. 3

   Make the lease conditional on board approval

   Add a clause that the lease is void and all money is refunded if the board does not approve.
4. 4

   Agree on who pays which fee

   List every fee, the payee and whether it is refundable. Compare it with the FARE Act disclosure you are given.
5. 5

   Look up the building

   Search the address on Roofy for open violations, heat complaints and the building's record before you hand over a deposit.