N.Y. Real Property Law § 227-e

Landlord must re-rent: N.Y. Real Property Law § 227-e

N.Y. Real Property Law § 227-e requires landlords to take reasonable steps to re-rent at the lower of fair market value or lease rate. Exemption clauses void.

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

§ 227-e. Landlord duty to mitigate damages. In any lease or rental agreement, excluding any real estate purchase contract defined in paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) of subdivision four of section four hundred sixty-one of this chapter, covering premises occupied for dwelling purposes, if a tenant vacates a premises in violation of the terms of the lease, the landlord shall, in good faith and according to the landlord's resources and abilities, take reasonable and customary actions to rent the premises at fair market value or at the rate agreed to during the term of the tenancy, whichever is lower. If the landlord rents the premises at fair market value or at the rate agreed to during the term of the tenancy, the new tenant's lease shall, once in effect, terminate the previous tenant's lease and mitigate damages otherwise recoverable against the previous tenant because of such tenant's vacating the premises. The burden of proof shall be on the party seeking to recover damages. Any provision in a lease that exempts a landlord's duty to mitigate damages under 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

Before this section, a New York landlord could in principle leave an apartment empty and bill the departed tenant for every remaining month. Section 227-e reverses that for dwellings. Where a tenant vacates in violation of the lease, the landlord shall, in good faith and according to the landlord's resources and abilities, take reasonable and customary actions to rent the premises at fair market value or at the rate agreed during the tenancy, whichever is lower.

The consequence is automatic once it works. If the landlord re-rents at that figure, the new tenant's lease, once in effect, terminates the previous tenant's lease - so the old tenant's liability ends on that date rather than at the end of the original term - and mitigates the damages otherwise recoverable. Note the phrasing of the standard: not the highest rent obtainable, but the lower of market value and the agreed rate, which prevents a landlord from holding out for more and charging the wait to the tenant who left.

Two sentences govern how the argument runs. The burden of proof is on the party seeking to recover damages - the landlord who wants the remaining rent has to show what was done to re-let. And any lease provision exempting the landlord from the duty to mitigate is void as contrary to public policy, so the clause disclaiming any obligation to re-rent has no effect. The section covers premises occupied for dwelling purposes and excludes the real estate purchase contracts identified in § 461(4)(a), (c) and (d).

When it applies

  • A tenant leaves months before the end of the lease for a job in another state and the landlord claims the whole remaining rent.
  • The apartment sits empty and unadvertised while the landlord bills the former tenant.
  • A landlord relets quickly and the former tenant wants to know when liability stopped.
  • A landlord holds out for a higher rent than the lease rate and charges the vacancy to the tenant who left.
  • The lease contains a clause saying the landlord has no obligation to re-rent.

What this section does not say

  • It does not make leaving early lawful. Vacating in violation of the lease is still a breach; the section limits what the breach costs.
  • It does not cancel rent for the period before the apartment is re-let, nor costs the landlord properly incurred.
  • It does not apply to commercial premises. The section covers premises occupied for dwelling purposes.
  • It does not oblige the landlord to accept any applicant. The standard is reasonable and customary actions according to the landlord's resources and abilities, in good faith.
  • It is not a notice provision. It says nothing about how much notice a tenant must give before leaving.

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 moves out four months before the lease ends to take a job in another state. The apartment is re-let within six weeks, and the landlord keeps billing for the whole remaining term.

How the wording applies

Where the landlord re-rents at fair market value or at the rate agreed during the tenancy, whichever is lower, the new tenant's lease once in effect terminates the previous tenant's lease and mitigates the damages otherwise recoverable. So liability ends on the date the new lease took effect, and that date is what everything here turns on.

How the parties settled it

They agree the tenant owes the six weeks of vacancy plus the advertising actually paid for, taken from the deposit, and the balance of the deposit is returned.

Illustrative example

Months after a tenant left early, the apartment has never been listed anywhere and no viewings have taken place, while invoices for the remaining rent keep arriving.

How the wording applies

The landlord must, in good faith and according to their own resources and abilities, take reasonable and customary actions to rent the premises. The section then puts the burden of proof on the party seeking to recover damages, so a landlord who wants the remaining rent has to show what was done to re-let. It turns on the evidence of the letting effort, not on why the tenant left.

How the parties settled it

The landlord agrees to list the unit within a week and to cap the claim at rent for the period until it is re-let, and the former tenant pays for the photographs.

Illustrative example

A landlord turns down two applicants offering the lease rent while holding out for a higher figure, and points to a lease clause saying he has no obligation to re-rent at all.

How the wording applies

The standard is not the highest rent obtainable but fair market value or the rate agreed during the tenancy, whichever is lower, which is exactly what stops a landlord charging the wait to the tenant who left. And any lease provision exempting the landlord from the duty to mitigate is void as contrary to public policy, so the clause does no work.

How the parties settled it

They agree the former tenant's liability stops on the date of the first refused application at the lease rent, and the landlord keeps enough of the deposit to cover the arrears to that point.

Related sections

N.Y. Real Property Law § 226-b Thirty-Day Sublet Rule: N.Y. Real Property Law § 226-b N.Y. Real Property Law § 227 Stop rent if untenantable: N.Y. Real Property Law § 227 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 N.Y. Real Property Law § 232-a NYC Notice to Terminate: N.Y. Real Property Law § 232-a N.Y. Real Property Law § 232-b One month notice: N.Y. Real Property Law § 232-b

That's the law. Now let's settle your problem.

Say what is happening. A neutral mediator hears your side and the other party's, and walks you both to a written agreement. In the advanced settings you can ask for the decision to be reasoned on the New York Consolidated Laws.

This is with

Or open a session directly and invite the other party.

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-e 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.

← All New York law pages