Skip to main content
Fulltext search
FILTER RESULTS BY:
RECOMMENDED IN RENT
Moving to NYC after college? Here's how to find a rental apartment
RECOMMENDED IN BUY
How buying real estate in NYC is unlike anywhere else
RECOMMENDED IN SELL
A guide to using a no-fee renovation loan from a NYC real estate firm
RECOMMENDED IN IMPROVE
How to make your NYC renovation more pet-friendly
BEST REAL ESTATE WEBSITE!
National Association of Real Estate Editors
BEST REAL ESTATE WEBSITE! National Association of Real Estate Editors
Brick Underground
Social Links
follow:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Flipboard
  • search
Brick Underground
☰ Brick Underground
Brick Underground
Brick Underground
☰
Brick Underground
  • Buy
    • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
    An image of the top of a brick New York City apartment building, including its parapet.
    Design + Architecture
    Parapet inspections: What NYC boards and building owners need to know about Local Law 126
    A three-bedroom unit on the market for $1.525 million at Citylights
    Sales Market
    What’s a condop? What do I need to know about buying there?
    Apartment buildings on Park Avenue in Manhattan.
    Co-ops
    12 tough co-op board interview questions—and how to answer them
  • Rent
    • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
    Tenant protest outside Rent Guidelines Board preliminary vote
    Affordable Housing
    Rent Guidelines Board intends to raise stabilized rents for a fourth time
    image
    The Search
    Brick Underground’s Gross Rent Calculator: How to figure out the rent you’ll actually owe each month
    A kitchen with stainless steel appliances and counter tops and wood floor
    Roommates + Landlords
    11 things NYC landlords are required to provide, and 11 they’re not that might surprise you
  • Sell
    • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
    Madison avenue and East 67th Street, Manhattan, New York City
    Sell
    Median sales price for Manhattan co-ops and condos jumps to $1,165,000
    new condo building and older co-op buildings in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
    Sell
    Brooklyn median price nears $1 million but the spring market is a question mark
    View of NYC condo buildings from New Jersey
    Sell
    Private listings: What NYC sellers and buyers need to know about the off-market controversy
  • Live
    • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
    FlatRate moving brick underground
    Live
    How to troubleshoot your move in advance
    Sponsored By flatrate
    big apple moving NYC
    Troubleshooting
    How can I save money when hiring a moving company in NYC?
    Sponsored By Big Apple Moving
    big apple moving van
    Products + Test-drives
    What’s the best way to pack up my apartment for a move?
    Sponsored By Big Apple Moving
  • Improve
    • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide
    An image of the top of a brick New York City apartment building, including its parapet.
    Design + Architecture
    Parapet inspections: What NYC boards and building owners need to know about Local Law 126
    solar panels on a small house roof
    Design + Architecture
    Simple Yet Powerful Steps To Turn Your Apartment Eco-Friendly
    Sponsored By Ecoflow
    This is a photograph of a street in the Upper West Side in NYC viewed from the Summit in Central Park through bare tree branches.
    Renovation
    Fewer buyers, steeper rents, and costlier renovations: How tariffs could impact NYC real estate
  • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards
    • Finance
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Property Management
    • Structure & Systems
    • Sustainability
    Burned and Boarded Up Windows
    When should your board hire a public adjuster?
    Manhattan GM
    What should we consider when renewing insurance for our building?
    Facade of NYC buildings
    How much is insurance on a NYC co-op or condo building?
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with us
    • Sponsored Content
    • Experts
    FlatRate moving brick underground
    Live
    How to troubleshoot your move in advance
    Sponsored By flatrate
    big apple moving NYC
    Troubleshooting
    How can I save money when hiring a moving company in NYC?
    Sponsored By Big Apple Moving
    solar panels on a small house roof
    Design + Architecture
    Simple Yet Powerful Steps To Turn Your Apartment Eco-Friendly
    Sponsored By Ecoflow
  • Brick Report
  • About Us
  • About Us
Email Address
Fulltext search
FILTER RESULTS BY:
New Main menu
  • Buy
    • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
  • Rent
    • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
  • Sell
    • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
  • Live
    • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
  • Improve
    • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide
  • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards
    • Finance
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Property Management
    • Structure & Systems
    • Sustainability
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with us
    • Sponsored Content
    • Experts
  • Brick Report
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertise
  • About Us
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER →
Social Links Footer
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Search
Ask Altagracia [ SPONSORED ]

Ask Sam: I'm month-to-month. Do I have the right to take a roommate that my landlord rejected?

By Himmelstein McConnell Gribben & Joseph LLP  | November 11, 2020 - 9:30AM
image

A month-to-month lease gives you fewer restrictions, but also fewer protections. 

Austin Havens-Bowen for Brick Underground/Flickr

SHARE:
Share to Facebook
Share to Twitter
Print
More...

I’m renting month-to-month in a small building. My roommate recently moved out, and I’m looking for a new roommate. I found someone, but my landlord turned them down. Can they move in anyway? Or can I just pay my share of the rent?

As a month-to-month tenant, you have fewer restrictions on getting a roommate, but also fewer protections from eviction, so proceed carefully, says Sam Himmelstein, a lawyer with the firm Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph who represents residential and commercial tenants and tenant associations.

Tenants with standard leases are protected by the roommate law, which grants them the right to share their apartment with another adult not related to them, and that adult’s dependent children. Under this law, if there are multiple tenants named on the lease, they can have multiple roommates, as long as the total number of roommates and tenants does not exceed the number of tenants listed on the lease.

In other words, if there were three tenants named on the lease and two of them left, the remaining tenant could have two roommates. The remaining tenant would not need the permission of the landlord to have these roommates move in—their only obligation would be to notify the landlord of the new roommates’ names within 30 days of their move-in date.

“The roommate law says that notwithstanding any clause in the lease, the tenant is permitted to have a roommate,” Himmelstein says. “In this case, there is no lease, so there’s no restriction on who the tenant can have live with them.”

In other words, as a month-to-month tenant you can have a roommate of your choosing, but they would not be considered tenants; you would need them to pay rent to you, and then you’d pay the full rent to your landlord.

However, since your landlord has already rejected one potential roommate, taking in another could go over poorly—and you have little protection from the landlord terminating your tenancy.

“The landlord could retaliate by seeking eviction, and serve you with a termination notice,” Himmelstein says. (Note that legally speaking, if you’ve lived in the apartment from one to two years, you’re entitled to a 60-day notice, and if you’ve lived there longer than two years, a 90-day notice of eviction.)

If the landlord does this, Himmelstein says, “You could argue that it’s retaliatory, and that your landlord is trying to evict you because you exercised your right to have a roommate. This is hard to prove, but you could argue it in court.”

And if you prevailed in court, the case would be dismissed and you (and your roommate) would be allowed to remain in the apartment for a year.

“You don’t have the same restrictions as tenants with standard leases, but you also don’t have the same protections,” Himmelstein says. “You can have whoever you want move in, but the landlord can still try to evict you.”

One thing you should avoid doing if you can is not paying the full rent—you’re considered liable for the entire apartment’s rent as long as you’re the only tenant living there, and withholding it definitely gives the landlord reason to take you to court for non-payment of rent.  

Related: 

Ask Sam: How much information do I have to give the landlord before I move in with my friend? (sponsored)

Ask Sam: Two of my roommates moved out. Am I responsible for their rent? (sponsored) 

Ask Sam: I'm renting month-to-month. Can I move out whenever I want? Can my landlord end my lease at any time? (sponsored)

Read all the Ask a Renters' Rights Lawyer columns here.


Sam Himmelstein, Esq. represents NYC tenants and tenant associations in disputes over evictions, rent increases, rental conversions, rent stabilization law, lease buyouts, and many other issues. He is a partner at Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph in Manhattan. To submit a question for this column, click here. To ask about a legal consultation, email Sam or call (212) 349-3000.

Alanna Schubach

Alanna Schubach

Contributing writer

Contributing editor Alanna Schubach has over a decade of experience as a New York City-based freelance journalist.

SEE MORE BY Alanna Schubach »
Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics:

Ask Altagracia landlords roommates tenants tenants' rights
SHARE
TWEET
BRICK’S PICKS
Historic brick facades of NYC apartment buildings
Getting overcharged by a landlord? Here’s how the Tenant Protection Unit helps rent-stabilized tenants
Apartment buildings in Soho
New Rent Guidelines Board report justifies a rent freeze, tenant advocates claim
Brooklyn apartment buildings
Understanding net effective rent: Here's how to calculate your real monthly rent
image
How much should you renovate your NYC apartment or house before selling?
Council Member Shahana Hanif hold press conference before the City Council vote on Arrow Linen spot rezoning.
City Council signs off on 10-story towers for Arrow Linen site
couple standing close, only jeans-clad legs showing
Can my boyfriend claim ownership of my condo if we break up?
Follow Brick on Instagram
@brickunderground | #brickunderground
Brick UndergroundBRICK UNDERGROUNDREAL LIFE. REAL ESTATE. REAL NEW YORK.
Social Links Footer
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Search
Main menu footer
  • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
  • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
  • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
  • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
  • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide

Get more news you can actually use...

Email Address

Delivered to your inbox weekly - for free.

*By signing up you agree to receive occasional emails on behalf of our sponsors

Footer Menu
  • About Us
  • Advertise

Copyright 2009-2024 by BND Ventures Inc | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Ad Choices | Login