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New York Seniors:_How To Break A Lease Under RPL 227-A

Blog Index

What The Law Allows
Who The Law Applies To
Moving Into Senior Housing or Living With A Family Member
What The Doctor’s Note Must Say
Other Required Documentation
Notifying Your Landlord: How & When To Send Notice
Sample Notice Email (Should also Mail to be safe)
Hand Deliveries: Sample Form For Agent To Sign (Showing Notice Was Received)
The Actual Statute: New York Real Property Law 227-a (With Highlights)
Getting Help Through an Advocate

I am New Yorker who moved to Atlanta long ago. I would never have written this, until my mom needed to move to Georgia because of serious medical issues. Sadly, the law on breaking a lease is extremely confusing, even for consumer rights lawyers like myself. So here’s a stab at making it simple for you and your loved ones.

What The Law Allows
The law is called “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”(New York Property Law 227-a).

It allows a person 62 or over to break their New York lease if they have a medical issue that affects their ability to live independently. However, the senior must be moving into senior housing, or other qualified housing, or the home of a family member. AND the senior must provide timely notice and all the documentation required by this statute.

In short, the senior must follow every jot and tittle of the law or they could lose another month’s rent and possibly forfeit their security deposit.

Once the senior meets all the requirements under New York law, the landlord must legally end the lease, refund their security deposit, and cannot charge any more rent or fees in lieu of rent.

Note that New York law trumps a New York lease. This means the senior can walk away Scot-free even if the lease has penalties for early termination or other more stringent requirements for giving notice. But to be safe, I recommend you follow both the law and lease when giving notice of termination.

Who The Law Applies To
The law applies to people of any age who are disabled as defined by NY EXC Article 15 § 292(21).

The law also applies to seniors who are at least 62 years old or will be age 62 during the lease term. It extends to the senior’s spouse and their dependents (even if younger than 62). So everyone gets out of the lease, not just the senior. This makes sense as families should be allowed to stick together.

The Senior Must Move In With A Family Member or Into Qualified Senior Housing
The senior can’t break the lease simply to move elsewhere. Rather, the senior must move in with a family member or into qualified senior housing. Qualified senior housing does not just include nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The statute actually allows the senior to move into “any complex erected for the specific purpose of housing senior citizens.” In other words, even an independent living facility will qualify.

A Doctor’s Note Must Show A Medical Issue Exists To Justify The Move
Under RPL 227-a, the senior must have a doctor certify that the senior is “no longer able, for medical reasons, to live independently in such premises” and the senior either:

Requires “assistance with instrumental activities of daily living;“
or
Requires “assistance with personal activities of daily living.”

The law does not require that the senior be so impaired that they must move into assisted living or a nursing home. As stated earlier, the senior can move into independent living as well.

Key is that:

There are medical reasons why the senior cannot live independently in their current premises;
The senior requires some assistance (even if very small) with either personal or instrumental activities in their day to day living.
The doctor’s note makes clear these three points above, (preferably by using the exact language found in the law, e.g. the terms marked in red.)

Example of Not Being Able To Live Independently in Their Current Premises
My mom is a senior over the age of 62 who lives in Midtown Manhattan. She is visually impaired and keeps falling down the step between her living room and dining room.

When she has to go buy groceries, she must risk her life to cross the street in heavy midtown traffic. Thus, her poor vision is a medical reason why she cannot live independently in her current premises. For all I know, she may magically be able to live independently in an apartment without steps, or move somewhere safer in a quiet, low traffic part of Queens. But the statute only requires that she cannot live independently in her current apartment.

Example of Personal or Instrumental Activities
Likewise, my mom has trouble putting on her makeup or reading the labels on her medicines. Either of these could be deemed personal or instrumental, and that should be enough. It is not a tough standard to meet. But a doctor’s note is mandatory.

Required Documents under New York Real Property Law 227-a.

If the senior is moving in with a relative, send the landlord:

The doctor’s note (does not need to be notarized);
A notarized statement by a family member that the senior will be living with them for at least 6 months;
A notice of termination letter as required by your lease (Optional but highly recommended though the law should trump any lease notice requirements.)

If the senior is moving directly into senior housing, send the landlord:

The doctor’s note (does not need to be notarized);
A copy of the signed or executed contract or lease with the senior housing facility;
A notice of termination letter as required by your lease (Optional but highly recommended though the law should trump any lease notice requirements.)

When and How To Send A Termination Notice under RPL 227-a
Your termination date (the date you can get out of your lease) all depends on the date your landlord receives your written notice. It is not determined by when you sent the notice. The exception is if you mail it. (see Mailing Your Notice for details).

For when to send notice, scroll down to “HOW LATE CAN MY LANDLORD RECEIVE MY TERMINATION NOTICE WITHOUT PENALTY?“

Notice Can Be Sent by Mail, Email, or Hand Delivery
There is nothing in the statute that restricts how you can send a termination notice. It can be sent by mail, email, certified mail, hand delivery or passenger pigeon. Key is being able to prove the landlord received it prior to the deadline. So keep a paper trail of all you do.

Mailing Your Notice
RPL 227-a contemplates that a mailed letter may not be responded to or signed for. So if you decide to mail your landlord the notice letter, “notice shall be deemed delivered five days after mailing.”

This five day mailing rule means you best send it at least FIVE DAYS EARLIER THAN if it was hand delivered or emailed. The better approach is to send it certified mail, return receipt requested. Then you’ll have proof that it was received on time. However, IF NO ONE SIGNS FOR YOUR LETTER, follow up with an email or hand delivery so the landlord has it before the notice deadline.

Emailing Your Notice
For emailed notices, ask the landlord in your email to send a reply email once notice is received. (See sample email below)

You may want to copy two or three people just in case the leasing manager is on vacation or on maternity leave. Sometimes names and email addresses can be found on your lease or on the Landlord’s website. If not, there’s always Google. Or you can call the leasing office and ask for a contact name and email address.

Don’t forget to attach all the required documentation. To be safe, be sure to blind copy yourself on the email and double check that you received all the required attachments.

IF NO ONE RESPONDS TO YOUR EMAIL, don’t wait until after the notice deadline. If the deadline is today or tomorrow, BE SURE TO ALSO HAND DELIVER OR MESSENGER THE NOTICE SO THAT IT WON’T ARRIVE LATE. Then follow up with another email stating you just delivered notice.

Hand Delivering Your Notice
If the notice is hand delivered, make sure the landlord or agent signs a dated confirmation sheet so you can prove it was received at least 30 days before your desired termination date. See a sample below.

IF NO ONE WILL SIGN, use your smart phone to take a dated time stamped photo of the person and your document, so it’s clear notice was delivered. Also immediately send a follow up email with all the documents attached stating you delivered notice to X but no one would sign for it. In your email ask for them to confirm notice. Be sure to blind copy yourself on the email and double check that you sent them all the attached documents.

HOW LATE CAN MY LANDLORD RECEIVE MY TERMINATION NOTICE WITHOUT PENALTY?

Making Sense of the Strange Termination Language Found in RPL 227-a(1)
The earliest termination date that you can have (without penalty) is one that is at least 30 days after your next rent payment (the rent payment that follows the date the landlord received your notice letter.) So don’t plan on giving notice in October so that you can leave in November. If you do this, the law will not protect you.

That said, if your rent is payable on the first of every month, be safe, and always give written notice at least 36 days before the date you will be stuck paying rent for an unwanted month. (For mailing you want to include the 5 extra days notice plus 1 day of padding, in case you miscalculated.)

So if you don’t want to pay rent due on December 1st, make sure the landlord receives your notice no later than October 26th. Click here for a move out date calculator where you can add or subtract days to determine notice and termination dates.

If you hand deliver the letter or email it, you may be able to get away with just 31 days notice. (30 days plus 1 day of padding in case you miscalculated.)

Notice Received Anywhere In October Means Lease Can Terminate Before December 1st
So, say you wish to move out before December 1st and your rent is due on the first of every month. In that case, the landlord could get your notice on October 1st or October 31st. And either way, your termination letter is effective by November 30th at the earliest.

In other words, you still must pay one full rent payment after the notice was received. From there you must wait an additional 30 days before the termination is deemed legal. This doesn’t mean of course, that you have to stay in your apartment until November 30th. You can certainly move out earlier-as long as you still pay November’s rent.

Notice Received Anywhere In November Means Lease Can Terminate Before January 1st
Now instead, suppose the landlord received your notice on November 1st rather than in October. This would mean your earliest penalty free termination date would be December 30th. By law, you would still have to pay the rent for the month afterwards (December’s rent) and also add another 30 days before the termination was effective.

NOTE: THERE’S NOTHING THAT STOPS YOU FROM GIVING MORE THAN THE LEGALLY REQUIRED NOTICE. BUT NEVER GIVE LESS THAN SUCH or you may forfeit another month’s rent and some or all or your security deposit.

Sample Notice Letter For The Landlord (Email)

Kimberly Quest (Person listed in Lease for Sending Notice)
cc: Amy Pullman (Back up person in case Ms. Quest doesn’t respond)
Subject: Carla Freedman Tenant Termination Notice per New York Real Property Law §227-a

If Sending By Mail:
Northmoor Leasing (Name of NY Landlord)
(use landlord address listed in Lease For Sending Notice of Termination or other required notice)

Dear Ms. Quest

My name is Graham Firestone and I am the son of Carla Freedman. This letter is to provide the required 30 day’s notice that on or before November 30th, 2019, Carla Freedman will be moving into The Renaissance on Peachtree, located at 3755 Peachtree Rd, Atlanta, GA 30319, which is deemed long term senior housing per New York Real Property Law §227-a.

My mother is slowly going blind and has extreme difficulty with even ordinary life activities. She is also prone to falls, which makes it unwise for her to live alone in an apartment with stairs between the entry way and her living room.

Attached is a doctor’s note which certifies that Carla Freedman is 71 years old, nearly blind and for medical reasons is no longer able to live independently in her apartment. Also attached is a copy of the lease at Renaissance on Peachtree. Please email me within 24 hours to confirm receipt of this notice and contact me immediately if you have any questions or concerns.

Best regards,

Graham Firestone

515 Wyncourtney Drive NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30328

C 867-5309
H 678-587-9228

Sample Proof of Receipt For Hand Delivery

Make sure the landlord’s agent prints their name, signs and dates the form below. (You can have them sign two copies if you like, one for their records and one for your own.)

I confirm that I work for Northmoor Apartments and have received from Carla Freedman, tenant of apartment 4B, the following documents:

A doctor’s letter;

A lease from Happy Hills Senior Housing; and

A notice letter dated October 31, 2019.

_______________
Printed Name

_______________
Signature

_______________
Date

Getting Help Through An Advocate
OK. So you did everything right but the landlord still won’t return your security deposit. Now is the time to call an advocate. Or perhaps many advocates. But first, why not give the landlord just one more chance to do the right thing. After all, if it works, you won’t have to risk using the heavy guns.

Keep in mind that big landlords are usually more sensitive to publicity while the smaller landlords are more sensitive to lawsuits. So if you’ve been treated unfairly, you’ve got to speak their love language. You must demonstrate that the cheapest, easiest and best course of action, is for them to follow the law , let you out of the lease, and return your security deposit.

Talking To Small Time Landlords
Some landlords are individuals who rent out their homes, or slumlords who may depend on word of mouth rather than advertising. These are usually more prone to responding to legal pressure rather than bad publicity. Therefore consider going straight to the Government, Non-Profit and and Legal help agencies listed below.

Talking To Big Landlords (Apartment Buildings)
Apartment buildings have leasing managers, leasing directors, lawyers and public relations directors. If you know their motivation, you’ll know how to persuade them.

Your leasing manager and leasing director want to keep their jobs and get yearly bonuses. Often these things depend directly on the apartment building having a high occupancy rate. If lots of apartments suddenly become empty. that’s going to look bad for them.

Similarly, the public relations director also thinks about low and high occupancy rates. Their job is to promote the landlord’s good public image OR to protect the landlord from a bad public image. So the last thing they need is for a media explosion to occur because they didn’t jump quick enough to stop it.

Lawyers
The lawyers for your landlord are another matter. Lawyers think mostly about losing or winning lawsuits. And chances are they are quite good at such things.

What their lawyers are not good at (what they’re absolutely terrified of) is controlling and containing the absolute chaos that will erupt when your story gets out to the media, the government regulatory agencies and the non profits. Lawyers know the courts. But most are helpless before the court of public opinion. So don’t fool with their lawyers. And don’t waste your breath yelling about how much you can sue them for.

Explaining Their Exposure In Terms of Viewers & Circulation Instead, simply email your leasing manager and leasing director that you need your deposit back immediately. Otherwise, your next step is to spread the word to other would be renters through (Channel X, Channel Y and newspaper Z).

Inform them that your goal is to guarantee that everyone in New York knows how badly they mistreat seniors. (Including the disability rights groups) And that this publicity will cause their vacancy rates to skyrocket for years to come so they lose 1000 times more than your meager security deposit.

Be sure to copy the Public Relations Director and leave your phone number. She may be calling you shortly.

Don’t forget to provide a list of the TV stations, newspapers and government agencies you will be contacting. If you list the # of viewers each TV station has, and the circulation (# of readers) for each magazine or newspaper, it may drive home just how bad this thing is going to get.

To avoid looking like you’re just ranting and raving, keep it to about 3 TV stations, 3 newspapers and 3 magazines. Then add in a few of the non profits and government agencies for good measure. DO NOT FORGET TO LIST THE # OF VIEWERS and # OF READERS NEXT TO EACH MEDIA SOURCE.

In your email, feel free to explain the key buzz words that are sure to make media headlines. “80 year old grandmother,” “disabled senior,” “nearly deaf,” “nearly blind,” “can barely walk,” “must use a walker/cane,” “stumbles and falls,” can’t safely cross the street,” “suffers from dementia,” “just needs to be with family,” …”x million seniors live in NYC,” “y million Seniors in NY State.”

Also explain that you will file a complaint with the NY Attorney General and Department of Aging so they can continue to monitor how seniors are treated in the future.

If none of this works, your next step is to reach out to the Senior Advocates below.

Senior Advocates

GOVERNMENT & NON PROFITS

New York Attorney General’s Office Helpline (1-800-771-7755)
Aging Resources For Older New Yorkers (downloads a pdf)
New York City Department of Aging-Legal Help
NY Department of Aging-Statewide Offices
AARP New York State
AARP NYC
Googling For Senior Advocates in New York
Where Else To Go For Help in New York

TV STATIONS, NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES

Media Facts

# of Seniors in New York City & State (Google)
# of people or seniors with your disaiblity in the US, NY or NYC
(Google it and send to the reporters)

Legal Help (Mostly Low Income To Qualify)

New York City Department of Aging
Where To File A Consumer Complaint (AG Locations Throughout NY)
Where Else To Go For Help in New York
Legal Services NYC (Free Help In New York City)
The NYC Legal Aid Society
Mobilizaiton For Justice

The New York Statute

Section 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.

(Age, DR’s Certification, Qualified Senior Housing, Release of Lease Liability)

(Advance Notice, Documents Needed, Long Term Stay With A Family Member)