Subletting and taking in a roommate are two different things with two different sets of rules, and New York City is one of the few places where getting them wrong can cost you your apartment.
Here is the difference, what needs to be in writing, and where a notarization is actually useful.
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Sublet and roommate are not the same
A sublet is where you move out and somebody else takes the apartment for a period, with you remaining the tenant on the lease.
A roommate is where you continue to live there and somebody shares the space with you.
New York treats these differently. Roommate rights are broader than most tenants realize, and sublet rights come with a defined procedure and a landlord’s role in it.
Confusing the two, or describing one as the other to a landlord, is how a tenant ends up defending a lease violation.
Subletting has a procedure, and it matters
New York’s Real Property Law sets out a process for tenants seeking to sublet, including a written request to the landlord containing specified information, sent by certified mail, and a framework for the landlord’s response.
The details are specific enough that you should work from the statute or from a tenant service rather than from a summary. What matters here is the principle: ask in writing, properly, and keep proof.
Subletting without following the procedure, particularly in a rent regulated apartment, is a serious risk. Illegal sublet and profiteering are among the grounds landlords use to try to end a regulated tenancy.
And a specific caution for New York City: short term rentals of an entire apartment are heavily restricted here, and listing a regulated or rental apartment on a short stay platform is a different and larger problem than subletting.
Put the sublet agreement in writing
Between you and the subtenant, quite separately from anything with the landlord.
State the term with exact dates, the rent and when it is paid, the deposit, what is included, the condition of the apartment, and what happens if the subtenant stays past the end.
Be clear that you remain responsible to the landlord, because you do. If the subtenant does not pay, the landlord looks to you.
Photograph the apartment at handover and at return. The disputes here are identical to deposit disputes and are decided the same way, on evidence.
Roommates
Where you remain in occupation, a written roommate agreement is not required and is worth having.
Cover the share of rent and utilities, how and when it is paid, the deposit, notice to leave, guests, and what happens if one person moves out.
Understand the exposure: where both names are on the lease, each of you is generally liable to the landlord for the whole rent, not your share. A roommate agreement governs what you owe each other, not what the landlord can pursue.
Where a roommate is not on the lease, their position depends on the circumstances, and so does yours if the landlord objects.
Where notarization is worth it
Not required for any of these documents, and useful in specific cases.
A sublet agreement involving significant money, where you want the signature beyond dispute. A roommate agreement where the parties do not know each other well. A surrender or buyout agreement ending a tenancy, which is a serious document and worth formality. And any of these where one party is signing from another state.
Each party can be notarized separately, including online in minutes. See agreements between landlord and tenant.
Before you do any of this
Read your lease, and find out whether the apartment is rent regulated, because that changes the rules materially.
Then get the landlord’s position in writing rather than by phone. A tenant with a paper trail is in a completely different position from one relying on what a superintendent said.
Where the apartment is regulated or the stakes are high, a free tenant advocacy service or a housing attorney is worth the call before you sign anything.
The subtenant’s side
Less protected than tenants assume, and worth understanding before paying anybody.
Your agreement is with the tenant, not the landlord, and your right to be there generally depends on theirs. If their tenancy ends, yours usually ends with it.
So ask three questions before money changes hands. Is the sublet authorized, and can you see the landlord’s written consent or the request that was sent? How long does the tenant’s own lease run? And who do you pay, and how is it recorded?
Pay by a method that leaves a trail, get a receipt for the deposit, and photograph the apartment on the day you move in.
Where you are handing over a month’s rent and a deposit to somebody you met online, a notarized agreement with verified identities on both sides is cheap insurance.
When a roommate will not leave
Uncomfortable and common, and worth saying plainly: you generally cannot change the locks or remove somebody’s belongings.
New York has strong protections against unlawful eviction, and they can apply to a roommate who has been living there, even without a lease. Self help is how a frustrated tenant turns a dispute into a liability.
The lawful route runs through the court, and a housing attorney or a tenant service can explain what applies to your situation. Meanwhile, document everything: what was agreed, what was paid, and what has been communicated.
A written roommate agreement, signed at the start, is what makes that conversation shorter.
A checklist before anybody moves in
Read your lease and confirm whether the apartment is rent regulated. Decide honestly whether this is a sublet or a roommate, because the rules differ. Where it is a sublet, follow the written request procedure and keep proof of what you sent and when.
Put the agreement in writing, with dates, amounts and responsibilities. Take dated photographs of the apartment and of anything already damaged. Collect and document the deposit properly. Agree in advance how the arrangement ends and how much notice each side gives.
Then keep the file: the agreement, the photographs, the payment records and the correspondence with the landlord.
Every dispute in this area is decided on the paperwork, and the party who has it wins.
Guests, and when a guest becomes something else
The grey area landlords and tenants argue about most.
A visitor staying a few nights is a guest. Somebody who has moved in, receives mail there and keeps their belongings there is not, whatever either party calls it.
Leases often contain guest clauses limiting how long somebody may stay, and landlords do rely on them. Tenants, meanwhile, have rights to share their apartment that are broader than many leases suggest.
Where the arrangement is turning into something ongoing, deal with it openly rather than hoping nobody notices. A written roommate agreement, and where required a proper request to the landlord, is a far better position than an argument about how long somebody has been sleeping on the sofa.
Related reading
- Does a residential lease need to be notarized?
- Security deposits in New York: the rules
- Notarized agreements between landlord and tenant
- Beneficiary designations: the forms that override your will
- Financial forms that need a notary
This is general information, not legal or financial advice, and NotarEaseNYC is not a law firm. A New York notary cannot draft these documents, tell you which one you need, or explain what one does. Housing law in New York City is complicated and rent regulation adds another layer, so speak with a housing attorney or a tenant advocacy service where anything significant is at stake.