N.Y. Real Property Law § 227-a

RPL § 227-a: ending a lease to enter care or move in with family, at 62 or with a disability

Real Property Law § 227-a lets a tenant aged 62 or over, or with a disability, end a lease to enter a care facility or move in with a family member.

Official text N.Y. Real Property Law § 227-a — New York

§ 227-a. Termination of residential lease by senior citizens or individuals with a disability moving to a residence of a family member or entering certain health care facilities, adult care facilities or housing projects. 1. In any lease or rental agreement covering premises occupied for dwelling purposes in which a lessee or tenant has (a) attained the age of sixty-two years or older, or will attain such age during the term of such lease or rental agreement or (b) is an individual with a "disability", as defined in subdivision twenty-one of section two hundred ninety-two of the executive law or a husband or wife or dependent of such a person residing with him or her, there shall be implied a covenant by the lessor or owner to permit such lessee or tenant: (i) who is certified by a physician as no longer able, for medical reasons, to live independently in such premises and requiring assistance with instrumental activities of daily living or personal activities of daily living, and who will move to a residence of a member of his or her family, or (ii) who is notified of his or her opportunity to commence occupancy in an adult care facility (as defined in subdivision twenty-one of section two of the social services law) except for a shelter for adults (as defined in subdivision twenty-three of section two of such law), a residential health care facility (as defined in section two thousand eight hundred one of the public health law), or a housing unit which receives substantial assistance of grants, loans or subsidies from any federal, state or local agency or instrumentality, or any not-for-profit philanthropic organization one of whose primary purposes is providing low or moderate income housing, or in less expensive premises in a housing project or complex erected for the specific purpose of housing senior citizens or persons with disabilities, to terminate such lease or rental agreement and quit and surrender possession of the leasehold premises, and of the land so leased or occupied; and to release the lessee or tenant from any liability to pay to the lessor or owner, rent or other payments in lieu of rent for the time subsequent to the date of termination of such lease in accordance with subdivision two of this section; and to adjust to the date of surrender any rent or other payments made in advance or which have accrued by the terms of such lease or rental agreement.

  • 2. (a) Any lease or rental agreement covered by paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section may be terminated by notice in writing delivered to the lessor or owner or to the lessor's or owner's agent by a lessee or tenant. Such termination shall be effective no earlier than thirty days after the date on which the next rental payment subsequent to the date when such notice is delivered is due and payable. Such notice shall be accompanied by a documentation of the physician's certification, accompanied by a notarized statement from a family member stating that the senior citizen is related, and will be moving into their place of residence for a period of not less than six months or admission or pending admission to a facility set forth in subdivision one of this section. Such notice shall be deemed delivered five days after mailing. Documentation of admission or pending admission shall consist of a copy of an executed lease or contract between the lessee or tenant and a facility set forth in subdivision one of this section.
  • (b) Any lease or rental agreement covered by paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this section may be terminated by notice in writing delivered to the lessor or owner or to the lessor's or owner's agent by a lessee or tenant. Such termination shall be effective no earlier than thirty days after the date on which the next rental payment subsequent to the date when such notice is delivered is due and payable. Such notice shall be accompanied by a documentation of the physician's certification. Such notice shall be deemed delivered five days after mailing. Documentation of admission or pending admission shall consist of a copy of an executed lease or contract between the lessee or tenant and a facility set forth in subdivision one of this section.
  • 3. Any person who shall knowingly seize, hold, or detain the personal effects, clothing, furniture or other property of any person who has lawfully terminated a lease or rental agreement covered by this section or the spouse or dependent of any such person, or in any manner interferes with the removal of such property from the premises covered by such lease or rental agreement, for the purpose of subjecting or attempting to subject any of such property to a purported claim for rent accruing subsequent to the date of termination of such lease or rental agreement, or attempts so to do, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment not to exceed one year or by fine not to exceed one thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

3-a. Each owner or lessor of a facility or unit into which a lessee or tenant is entitled to move after quitting and surrendering as provided for herein shall in writing, upon an application, notify prospective tenants of the provision of this section. Such notice shall include, in plain and simple English, in conspicuous print of at least eighteen point type, an explanation of a tenants right to terminate the existing lease and all other applicable requirements and duties relating thereto. Such notice shall read as follows:

NOTICE: RESIDENTIAL LEASE TERMINATION

SECTION 227-a OF THE REAL PROPERTY LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK ALLOWS FOR THE TERMINATION OF A RESIDENTIAL LEASE BY SENIOR CITIZENS OR INDIVIDUALS WITH A DISABILITY MOVING TO A RESIDENCE OF A FAMILY MEMBER OR ENTERING CERTAIN HEALTH CARE FACILITIES, ADULT CARE FACILITIES OR HOUSING PROJECTS. Who is eligible?

Any lessee or tenant who is age sixty-two years or older,

or who will attain such age during the term of the lease or rental

agreement,

or an individual with a "disability", as defined in subdivision

21 of section 292 of the executive law,

or a spouse or dependent of such person residing with him or her.

What kind of facilities does this law apply to?

This law will apply if the senior citizen or individual with a disability is relocating to:

A. An adult care facility;

B. A residential health care facility;

C. Subsidized low income housing;

D. Senior citizen housing; or

E. A residence of a family member.

What are the responsibilities of the rental property owner?

When the tenant gives notice of his or her opportunity to move into one of the above facilities the landlord must allow:

A. for the termination of the lease or rental agreement, and

B. the release of the tenant from any liability to pay rent or other payments in lieu of rent from the termination of the lease in accordance with section 227-a of the real property law, to the time of the original termination date, and

C. to adjust any payments made in advance or payments which have accrued by the terms of such lease or rental agreement.

How do you terminate the lease?

If the tenant can move into one of the specified facilities, he or she must terminate the lease or agreement in writing no earlier than thirty days after the date on which the next rental payment (after the notice is delivered) is due and payable. The notice is deemed delivered five days after being mailed. The written notice must include documentation of admission or pending admission to one of the above mentioned facilities.

For example: Mail the notice: May 5th

Notice received: May 10th

Next rental payment due: June 1st

Termination effective: July 1st

Will the landlord face penalties if he or she does not comply?

Yes, according to section 227-a of the real property law, if anyone interferes with the removal of your property from the premises they will be guilty of a misdemeanor and will be either imprisoned for up to one year or fined up to $1000.00 or both.

  • 4. Any agreement by a lessee or tenant of premises occupied for dwelling purposes waiving or modifying his or her rights as set forth in this section shall be void as contrary to public policy.

Text as published in the 2026 snapshot of the code.

Source: Vaquill Open US Law, compiled from official state publishers (huggingface.co), reproduced under license CC BY 4.0.

Read this provision at the official source →

What it actually says

Section 227-a implies into the lease a covenant the landlord never agreed to. Where the tenant has reached 62 (or will during the term), or is an individual with a disability as defined in Executive Law § 292(21) - or is a spouse or dependent of such a person living with them - the landlord is deemed to have promised to let the tenant terminate in either of two situations: the tenant is certified by a physician as no longer able for medical reasons to live independently there and requiring assistance with daily living activities and is moving into a family member's residence; or the tenant is notified of an opportunity to move into an adult care facility, a residential health care facility, subsidized housing, or senior or disability housing. On termination the tenant is released from rent for the period after the termination date and payments made in advance are adjusted.

The timing rule is exact and is what most disputes turn on. Termination is by written notice to the landlord or the landlord's agent, and takes effect no earlier than thirty days after the date on which the next rental payment following delivery of the notice falls due. Notice is deemed delivered five days after mailing. The section supplies its own worked example: mail the notice 5 May, received 10 May, next rent due 1 June, termination effective 1 July. The notice must be accompanied by documentation - the physician's certification, and for a move to a family member, a notarized statement from that relative confirming the relationship and that the tenant will live there for at least six months; for a move to a facility, a copy of the executed lease or contract with it.

Subdivision 3 protects the belongings: knowingly seizing or detaining the property of a person who has lawfully terminated under this section, or interfering with its removal, in order to press a claim for rent accruing after termination, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year's imprisonment or a $1,000 fine or both. Subdivision 3-a requires the receiving facility to give applicants a plain-English notice of this right in at least eighteen-point type, and the statute sets out that notice word for word. Subdivision 4 makes any waiver void.

When it applies

  • A tenant of 74 is admitted to an assisted living facility with ten months left on the lease.
  • A tenant with a disability is certified as unable to live independently and moves in with an adult child.
  • A landlord insists on the full remaining term after a lawful termination notice.
  • A landlord holds furniture in the apartment against rent said to accrue after the termination date.
  • The parties disagree on the effective date of a termination notice that was mailed rather than handed over.

What this section does not say

  • Age alone is not enough. Termination requires either the physician's certification and a move to a family member's home, or an opportunity to move into one of the facilities the section lists.
  • It is not immediate. The earliest effective date is thirty days after the next rent payment due following delivery of the notice.
  • It does not cover a move to any accommodation of the tenant's choosing - a private apartment or an ordinary house purchase is not among the listed destinations.
  • It does not cancel rent already due before the termination date, nor deal with what may be deducted from the deposit.
  • It is not a general hardship clause. Illness, cost or a change of circumstances outside the section's terms do not end a lease under it.

Worked examples

Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.

Illustrative example

A tenant of 78 is offered a place at an adult care facility starting next month, with ten months left to run on her lease. The landlord tells her family she owes the balance of the term.

How the wording applies

Being notified of an opportunity to move into an adult care facility is one of the two qualifying situations, and it does not need the physician's certification the family-member route requires - but the notice must be accompanied by a copy of the executed lease or contract with the facility. The date turns on the timetable: termination takes effect no earlier than thirty days after the next rental payment falling due after delivery of the notice, and notice is deemed delivered five days after mailing.

How the parties settled it

They fix the termination date using the statute's own worked example, the apartment is cleared before it, and the deposit is returned less an agreed cleaning charge.

Illustrative example

A tenant with a disability is certified by her physician as no longer able to live independently and is moving in with her son. The landlord asks what documentation he is entitled to see.

How the wording applies

This route requires two documents with the notice: the physician's certification that the tenant can no longer live independently there and requires assistance with activities of daily living, and a notarized statement from the relative confirming the relationship and that the tenant will live there for at least six months. It turns on those accompanying the notice, because the section is specific about what goes with it.

How the parties settled it

The documents go in one envelope with the notice, the landlord confirms the effective date in writing within a week, and neither side raises the remaining term again.

Illustrative example

After a termination notice is served, the landlord refuses to let the family remove the furniture until rent for the rest of the term has been paid.

How the wording applies

Subdivision 3 makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly seize or detain the property of a person who has lawfully terminated under this section, or to interfere with its removal, in order to press a claim for rent accruing after termination, and subdivision 4 makes any waiver of the section void. The pivot is whether the termination was lawful under the section - if it was, the rent being claimed does not exist.

How the parties settled it

The furniture is released that week, the parties agree what rent was due up to the termination date and settle it out of the deposit, and the balance is returned.

Related sections

N.Y. Real Property Law § 227 Stop rent if untenantable: N.Y. Real Property Law § 227 N.Y. Real Property Law § 227-e Landlord must re-rent: N.Y. Real Property Law § 227-e N.Y. Real Property Law § 226-b Thirty-Day Sublet Rule: N.Y. Real Property Law § 226-b

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We copy this text from the official publisher and re-check it against that source on every page load, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for any reliance on it. An amendment can take effect before a consolidation catches up. The publisher's own copy is linked below; where the two differ, it is the official one that counts.

This page reproduces the text of N.Y. Real Property Law § 227-a in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in New York.

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