When The Landlord Will Not Fix It
Real Prop. Law § 235-b — every lease carries a warranty that the home is fit to live in, and it cannot be waived
Fit for human habitation. In every written or oral residential lease, the landlord warrants that the home and the areas shared with other tenants are fit for human habitation and for the uses the parties reasonably intended, and that the occupants are not subjected to conditions dangerous, hazardous or detrimental to their life, health or safety. A condition caused by the misconduct of the tenant, or of people under the tenant's direction or control, is not a breach.
A lease clause giving up the warranty is void. When a court sets the damages for a breach it needs no expert testimony. It excludes recovery for a breach caused by a strike not caused mainly by the landlord, beyond what the landlord saved, and for a rent regulated home it subtracts any rent reduction the state division of housing and community renewal already ordered for the same matter.
Complaining is protected. A good faith complaint to the landlord or a government authority about a health or safety violation or the warranty of habitability is one of the acts a landlord may not retaliate against. A lease fee charged because a tenant filed a bona fide complaint about the condition of the home is void, and a landlord who tries to collect one owes the tenant triple the amount.
Sources for this section (2)
- Real Prop. Law § 235-b — Warranty of habitability
- Real Prop. Law § 223-b — Retaliation by landlord against tenant
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.