Generally, a written lease is a binding contract, and its terms are enforceable. Your lease is governed by New York Law as well as the law of the municipality in which you live. In New York, certain lease clauses are prohibited. If your lease contains a clause that is prohibited, the clause cannot be enforced by your landlord. If there is no law prohibiting a lease clause, the clause is generally presumed valid, unless it conflicts with Public Policy.
Oral modification of leases: A landlord-tenant relationship may be created orally or in writing. When a lease contains a clause requiring modification of terms to be in writing, oral modification is generally precluded. (Aris Indus. Inc. v. 1411 Trizechahn Swig, LLC, 294 AD2d 107, 744 NYS2d 362 (1 Dept 2002)). Because a tenancy is an interest in real property, it must conform to the requirements of the “Statute of Frauds” (GOL § 5-703). Thus, an oral lease which can be performed in less than a year is enforceable while an oral lease for a term longer than one year is barred by the Statute of Frauds (GOL § 5-703) (Farash v. Sykes Datatronics, 59 NY2d 500, 452 NE2d 1245, 465 NYS2d 917 (1983). When an oral agreement does not contemplate any specific lease term, the failure to state a term creates an at-will tenancy. (Sawicka v Schwimmer, 187 A.D.3d 957, 130 N.Y.S.3d 711 (2 Dept. 2020)).
Waiver by Conduct: Even if a lease contains a “no-waiver” clause requiring waivers to be in writing, a landlord’s knowing acceptance of rent without attempting to enforce a breach can be interpreted as a waiver of that violation. For example, if a lease states that the tenant is responsible for electricity, but the landlord agrees to take over responsibility for electricity in an email, the tenant may be able to hold the landlord to the modification if the landlord actually began paying the electricity bill after the agreement. Conversely, if the landlord never acted on the email or continued to bill you for electricity, it weakens the argument that the email created a binding modification.
Joint and Several Leases: If your lease specifies that your rent obligation is “joint and several,” it means that each tenant is individually responsible for the entire amount of rent and any other financial obligations under the lease, not just their proportionate share. Since you are a joint obligor, if you pay more than your proportionate share of the rent, you are entitled to contribution from the defaulting co-tenant. This means you can sue your co-tenant to recover the money they failed to pay.
Tenant vs. Licensee: Generally, a tenant is an individual with a written or oral lease with the landlord that grants them the right to exclusive possession and dominion over the premises. Licensees, on the other hand, do not hold a traditional estate in the property, and include individuals that the tenant invites onto the premises. Licensees have a personal, revocable, and nonassignable privilege to perform acts on the premises without possessing any estate or interest. They generally do not have exclusive possession or dominion over the property. Licensees must have gained entry to the premises with express or implied permission of the owner or tenant.
To evict a licensee, a landlord must serve a ten day notice to quit prior to filing the eviction. If a landlord accepts payment of rent from a squatter/trespasser, their occupancy can ripen into a tenancy at will by the acceptance of rent.
An eviction petition that is contradictory as to whether a relationship is a landlord-tenant relationship (RPAPL § 711) or a licensee/squatter relationship (RPAPL § 713) may, in some cases, be dismissed.
