Required NYC lease riders and disclosures

A NYC lease usually comes with a stack of required riders: a flood history and risk notice, a sprinkler disclosure, a window guard notice, a bedbug history, lead paint and indoor allergen notices for many buildings, a Good Cause Eviction notice, and the rent-stabilized lease rider if your unit is stabilized. Use the table below to check yours, and ask the landlord in writing for anything that is missing before you sign.

Each notice exists for a reason: to tell you about a hazard, a right, or a cost before you commit. Which ones apply depends on the building's age and size, whether the unit is rent stabilized, and whether a broker is involved.

The required riders and notices at a glance

What each notice means for you

Rent-stabilized lease rider

If your apartment is rent stabilized, the NYC Lease Rider for Rent Stabilized Tenants (form RA-LR1, revised June 2026) must be attached to every vacancy and renewal lease. The rider must be printed larger than the lease itself, and the lease must say in bold that the attached rider sets out rights and obligations under the Rent Stabilization Law. On a vacancy lease, the owner must show how your rent was calculated from the previous legal regulated rent, including any individual apartment improvement (IAI) increases with an itemized list. The form warns that an owner who fails to attach it without cause may face a fine or other sanctions. If you don't get a rider, that is also a clue to check whether the unit should be stabilized; see is my apartment rent stabilized?

Bedbug history

NYC owners must give new tenants a disclosure of the building's and apartment's bedbug infestation history for the prior year. For stabilized vacancy leases, it is served with the lease rider. Separately, owners of multiple dwellings file an annual bedbug report with HPD each December and must either give tenants a copy at lease signing and renewal or post it in the building. See bed bugs in NYC apartments.

Window guards

In buildings with three or more apartments, owners must give new tenants the Window Guards Required lease notice when they first sign. You note whether a child 10 or younger will live there. Guards are then required on every window, including hallway windows, except windows onto a fire escape (and certain first-floor exit windows). Any tenant can ask for guards in writing, for any reason. Existing tenants get an annual notice. More in NYC window guard law.

Lead paint (city and federal)

Under NYC Local Law 1, owners of multiple dwellings built before 1960 (and of 1960–1978 buildings where the owner knows there is lead paint, plus some smaller and co-op/condo rentals) must give a lease/commencement of occupancy notice asking whether a child under six will live in or regularly spend 10 or more hours a week in the unit. The owner certifies the required turnover work was done and provides HPD's lead pamphlet. The notice is also required at renewal.

Federal rules add a layer for most housing built before 1978: the landlord must give you the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home, disclose any known lead paint and reports, and include a Lead Warning Statement in the lease. Exemptions include zero-bedroom units (unless a child under six lives there), leases of 100 days or less, and housing certified lead-free. See lead paint rights for NYC tenants.

Indoor allergens (mold and pests)

NYC's indoor allergen law (Local Law 55) requires a lease notice explaining that the owner must inspect for and fix mold, mice, rats and cockroaches. In it, the owner certifies that before you moved in, visible mold and pest infestations and their underlying causes, like leaks, were fixed, and that any carpets or furniture provided were cleaned. New tenants also get a pamphlet about indoor allergen hazards. See mold in your NYC apartment.

Sprinklers

Every residential lease in New York must say, in bold type, whether the unit has a maintained and operative sprinkler system. If it does, the lease must also give the date of the last maintenance and inspection (RPL §231-a).

Flood history and risk

Since June 21, 2023, every residential lease must disclose whether the property is in a FEMA floodplain, in the 100-year floodplain (Special Flood Hazard Area) or the 500-year floodplain (moderate risk), and any flood damage the landlord knows or reasonably should know about. It must also tell you that flood insurance is available to renters through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program and that a standard renters policy usually doesn't cover flood damage. HCR published a sample rider and recommends it in new and renewal leases. This matters for basement and ground-floor units; see basement apartments in NYC and renters insurance.

Good Cause Eviction notice

RPL §231-c requires a standard Good Cause Eviction law notice to be included in initial and renewal leases, and in rent increase or non-renewal notices. It says whether your unit is covered and, if not, which exemption the landlord claims. If you are covered and the landlord proposes an increase above the local rent standard, the notice must give its justification. Check the claimed exemption with does Good Cause Eviction cover my apartment?

Fees and brokers

Under NYC's FARE Act, the landlord or its agent must give you an itemized written list of every fee you will pay to the landlord or anyone acting for it, and you sign it before signing the lease. The landlord keeps it for three years and gives you a copy. If a licensed broker or salesperson is involved, New York also requires them to give you the state's Housing and Anti-Discrimination Disclosure Form. See who pays the broker fee.

What to do if a rider is missing

1. 1

   Ask before you sign

   Email the landlord or agent listing the notices you didn't receive and ask for them. Keep the reply.
2. 2

   Rent-stabilized rider missing

   Ask for RA-LR1 in writing. If the owner won't provide it, contact NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR); the form itself warns of fines or sanctions for not attaching it. Also request your rent history: see how to request your rent history.
3. 3

   Safety notice missing (window guards, lead, allergens, bedbugs)

   The underlying duty still applies. If you have a young child, tell the landlord in writing right away so guards and lead safety work happen. If conditions aren't fixed, file a complaint through 311; see how to file an HPD complaint.
4. 4

   Fee disclosure missing or a broker fee charged

   File a complaint with NYC DCWP online or through 311, with screenshots and receipts.
5. 5

   Good Cause notice missing or the exemption looks wrong

   Check the building on Roofy (year built, unit count, owner) against the claimed exemption, and call 311 for the Tenant Helpline if something doesn't add up.

Next, read the rest of the document with NYC lease clauses to watch. This guide is general information, not legal advice.