Prohibits landlords from requiring a fee for nonessential services in a tenant's base rent, including cable, internet and garage usage, as a condition of leasing a dwelling; excludes buildings with less than three dwelling units.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1768--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, CLARK -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Housing -- recommitted to the Committee on Housing in
accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to prohibiting land-
lords from requiring a fee for nonessential services in a tenant's
base rent
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding a new section
2 238-b to read as follows:
3 § 238-b. Base rent and nonessential services. 1. For the purposes of
4 this section, "nonessential services" shall include cable television,
5 internet services and garage usage.
6 2. A landlord shall be prohibited from requiring a fee for nonessen-
7 tial services in addition to the payment of rent as a condition of leas-
8 ing a dwelling in a primary written or oral lease agreement.
9 3. Nonessential services for which a fee is charged in addition to the
10 payment of rent may be provided by a landlord, if the tenant agrees to
11 have such nonessential services and agrees to pay a fee for such nones-
12 sential services in addition to the payment of rent. Any nonessential
13 services provided in this manner and the terms of use shall be set forth
14 in a written or oral agreement, which shall be a separate agreement from
15 the primary lease agreement and shall not affect the validity or appli-
16 cation of the primary lease agreement.
17 4. Any agreement provision contained in a lease for a residential
18 dwelling that requires payment of a fee for nonessential services in
19 addition to the rent as set forth in this section shall be void as
20 contrary to public policy.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04616-02-6
A. 1768--A 2
1 5. The provisions of this section shall not apply to buildings that
2 contain less than three dwelling units.
3 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
4 have become a law, provided, however, that this act shall only apply to
5 lease agreements signed on or after such effective date.
