# Renting a room or an apartment

Source: https://www.qaravan.org/resources/housing/renting-a-room/

How to find a room or an apartment in New York City, what you can be asked for and charged, and what to check before you pay or sign.

A landlord is the person or company that owns or manages the place. A broker is a real estate agent who shows places for a fee. A lease is the written rental agreement.

The City housing agency, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), operates the affordable housing lottery. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) enforces the broker fee law, the New York City Commission on Human Rights takes discrimination complaints, and the New York State Attorney General also takes complaints about deposits and fees.

## Start here

- Do not pay or sign anything until you have seen the place in person and checked that the person has the right to rent it.
- A landlord can charge at most $20 for a credit check and one month's rent as a deposit. The landlord's broker cannot charge you.
- A landlord cannot refuse you because of your immigration status, national origin, gender identity or sexual orientation, or because you pay with a voucher.

## Where to look

- Word of mouth, signs and your own building Any status Free No single app or site has every listing, so HPD recommends trying several ways at once. HPD says many New Yorkers find a place through friends, relatives and co-workers, so tell everyone you are looking. You can also walk the neighborhood you want and look for For Rent signs, read classified ads, ask neighbors, the superintendent or the management company about vacancies in your building, or check community groups and local government offices with neighborhood listings. A broker based in your chosen neighborhood is the other common route. [nyc.gov](https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/apartment-hunting-tips.page)
- NYC Housing Connect (affordable housing lottery) Any status Free HPD's City portal for affordable rentals and homes to buy in all five boroughs, and for re-rentals you can apply to directly. Each lottery sets its own income and household size rules. You can apply whatever your citizenship or immigration status. If you are selected, you may need proof of income, asset information, a rent payment history or a credit check, and IDs and birth certificates for household members. Hearing back can take several months. [housingconnect.nyc.gov](https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/)
- Housing Ambassadors Any status Free Community organizations, mostly volunteer-staffed, that help you prepare and complete a Housing Connect application for free. They do not provide housing or promise a unit. [nyc.gov](https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/housing-ambassadors.page)
- Ready to Rent Any status Free Free one-on-one financial counseling and help with affordable housing applications from HPD and DCWP: a counselor helps you check your credit, work out your income for applications and save for moving. By phone or in person; book online through the Financial Empowerment Portal. [nyc.gov](https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/ready-to-rent.page)
- NYCHA public housing Granted asylum Green card Free The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is the City's public housing landlord. At least one person in the household must be a U.S. citizen or have eligible status. The Community Service Society chart (May 2026) lists asylees as eligible, so people with a pending asylum case are not eligible yet. NYCHA never charges a fee to apply; report anyone who asks for money online to the City's Department of Investigation, which includes the NYCHA Inspector General: [nyc.gov/site/doi/contact/online-complaint-form.page](https://nyc.gov/site/doi/contact/online-complaint-form.page). [nyc.gov](https://www.nyc.gov/site/nycha/eligibility/eligibility.page)
- A room or apartment in a basement or cellar Any status Free Cheap basement housing is often rented illegally. HPD warns that illegal basement and cellar apartments carry risks such as carbon monoxide poisoning, poor light and air, and no way out in a fire, and that the City may order the people living there to leave (a Vacate Order). A cellar, with more than half its height below the curb and windows usually too small to climb through, can never be legally rented in a one- or two-family home. During Hurricane Ida in 2021, 13 people died in New York City and 11 of them drowned in their homes, mostly in unregulated basement apartments (NYC Comptroller, August 2022). Check whether a place is legal through its Certificate of Occupancy [on the Department of Buildings website](https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/index.page). If the City issues a Vacate Order, HPD offers relocation help to the people living there. [nyc.gov](https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/basement-and-cellar.page)

## From search to keys

1. Decide what you need A room in a shared apartment or your own place? A lease or not? HPD explains that in unregulated housing a lease fixes the rent for its term; without one, the landlord can end the tenancy with written notice of 30 days or more, depending on how long you have lived there. Many apartments are now also covered by the Good Cause Eviction law.
2. Search in several ways at once Tell people you know and use every option at once. For affordable apartments, sign up for Housing Connect email updates.
3. See the place in person Do not send money for a place you have not seen, and check that the person has the right to rent it.
4. Prepare your papers A photo ID, proof of income or an employer letter, a reference from a previous landlord if you can get one, and your credit report if you have one. HPD suggests a list of references with names and phone numbers. A landlord may ask for a co-signer, someone who promises in writing to pay if you do not.
5. If you have no Social Security number or U.S. credit history Say so at the start and offer other ID, such as a passport or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), a tax number from the Internal Revenue Service for people who cannot get a Social Security number. The New York City Commission on Human Rights says a landlord may ask for photo ID and personal information for a credit check, but insisting on only a passport or a Social Security number and refusing other documents that are enough may be a pretext for discrimination. A landlord does not need your Social Security number to open the deposit account. Without a credit history, offer proof of income, an employer letter and references from earlier landlords, and ask what else they accept. If you are refused because of your status or national origin, report it to the Commission with its online form: [nyc.gov/site/cchr/about/report-discrimination.page](https://nyc.gov/site/cchr/about/report-discrimination.page).
6. Ask what you must pay up front Before you apply, ask for the exact list of fees. The landlord or their agent must give you an itemized written list of all fees, and you sign it before the lease.
7. Pay only the legal application fee At most $20 for a credit and background check, and the landlord must give you a copy of the report and the checking company's invoice. If you bring your own check from the past 30 days, no fee applies.
8. Read the lease before you sign Check the rent, address and landlord; the due date and late charges; whether utilities are included; building rules (pets, guests); what happens at the end of the term; and whether you may sublet. Ask for any spoken promises to be written into the lease.
9. Pay the deposit and get it in writing The security deposit is at most one month's rent, and a landlord cannot also ask for last month's rent. In a building with six or more apartments, the landlord must keep deposits in an interest-bearing New York bank account and tell you in writing the bank's name, address and the amount.
10. Move in and name your roommates Keep your receipts. If someone lives with you, tell the landlord their name within 30 days of moving in. The Roommate Law allows this, and the landlord should not require a credit check from a roommate who is not on the lease.
11. When you move out In an apartment that is not rent stabilized or rent controlled, the landlord must return your deposit within 14 days of move-out or give an itemized list of deductions; otherwise they must return all of it. The Attorney General's office may help you get it back.

## What you can be charged

Costs of renting in New York City: what the law allows

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- Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act: complaints to DCWP Any status Free DCWP enforces the FARE Act. If a broker or landlord charged you a fee they should not have, file a complaint online with evidence: messages, screenshots, receipts and the broker's contact details. The law still allows up to $20 for a credit and background check. Nobody can make you hire a broker. All other fees must be in the ad and in a written list you sign before the lease. [nyc.gov](https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/FAQ-Broker-Fees.page)
- New York State Attorney General: Residential Tenants' Rights Guide Any status Free A State guide to leases, deposits, late fees, rent increases, subletting, repairs and evictions. To get a deposit back, file a rent security complaint form with the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection. [ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/publications/residential-tenants-rights-guide)

## What a landlord may and may not do

Asking for papers and refusing applicants

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- NYC Commission on Human Rights Any status Free Landlords, brokers and managing agents cannot discriminate based on actual or perceived immigration or citizenship status, national origin, gender (including gender identity), sexual orientation, or lawful source of income: Social Security, public assistance, or vouchers such as Section 8 or CityFHEPS. Report discrimination online at [nyc.gov/reportdiscrimination](https://nyc.gov/reportdiscrimination). [nyc.gov](https://www.nyc.gov/site/cchr/about/contact-us.page)
- Roommate Law Any status Free A roommate lives with the tenant on the lease and pays a share of the rent but is not on the lease. If one tenant is on the lease and it is their main home, they may live with one other adult who is not a relative, plus that person's dependent children. With several tenants on the lease, tenants and roommates together cannot exceed the number of tenants named. A lease cannot take this right away. In a rent stabilized apartment you cannot charge a roommate more than their share. [legalaidnyc.org](https://legalaidnyc.org/get-help/housing-problems/what-you-need-to-know-about-roommates-in-nyc/)
- Renting a room from someone who has a lease Any status Free If you rent a room from the tenant and are not on the lease yourself, you have no right to stay if they leave, so ask to be added to the lease. In a building with four or more apartments, a tenant may sublet with the landlord's consent, requested in advance by certified mail; in smaller buildings the landlord does not have to agree. A sublet or assignment that breaks the law can be grounds for eviction. [ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/publications/residential-tenants-rights-guide)

## Glossary: definitions of special terms and abbreviations

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This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.

[All pages: Housing](https://www.qaravan.org/resources/housing/)

**Sources, checked November 2026**

- [nyc.gov/site/cchr/about/contact-us.page](https://www.nyc.gov/site/cchr/about/contact-us.page)
- [ag.ny.gov/publications/residential-tenants-rights-guide](https://ag.ny.gov/publications/residential-tenants-rights-guide)
- [nyc.gov/site/dca/about/FAQ-Broker-Fees.page](https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/FAQ-Broker-Fees.page)
- [housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb](https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/)
- [legalaidnyc.org/get-help/housing-problems](https://legalaidnyc.org/get-help/housing-problems/)
- [legalaidnyc.org](https://www.legalaidnyc.org/)
- [nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/apartment-hunting-ti…](https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/apartment-hunting-tips.page)
- [nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/housing-ambassadors.…](https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/housing-ambassadors.page)
- [nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/ready-to-rent.page](https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/ready-to-rent.page)
- [nyc.gov/site/nycha/eligibility/eligibility.page](https://www.nyc.gov/site/nycha/eligibility/eligibility.page)
- [legalaidnyc.org/get-help/housing-problems/what-you-need-to-kno…](https://legalaidnyc.org/get-help/housing-problems/what-you-need-to-know-about-roommates-in-nyc/)
- [nyc.gov/site/cchr/about/report-discrimination.page](https://www.nyc.gov/site/cchr/about/report-discrimination.page)
- [nyc.gov/site/doi/contact/online-complaint-form.page](https://www.nyc.gov/site/doi/contact/online-complaint-form.page)
- [nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/basement-and-cellar.…](https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/basement-and-cellar.page)