Roommate Law: How Many People Can Legally Live Together? (2024)

Given the exorbitant amount of money we shell out for rent each month, it’s no wonder whysome New Yorkers are getting crafty with the number of roommates in theirapartment. As the New York Times reported, even married couples have taken on roommates in an effort to save on rent, or to make it possible to save enough to someday tobuy their ownplace. But what is the legal number of people allowed forone apartment?

The “Roommate Law” is a little known and widely broken part of the city’s Housing Maintenance Code.Section§27–2075 outlines maximum permitted occupancy inapartment units and one- and two-family homes.Because inspectors can’t go door-to-door searching for violations, the law is rarely enforced and as such has been dubbedone of the five biggest unenforceable lease provisionsby Brick Underground. In the unlikely event that maximum occupancyis enforced, it is most oftendue to a complaint from a neighbor. According to the New York Times, the violationisusually only written up if it’s accompanied by a host of others.

If there is one tenant on the lease…

Under New York Real Property Law 235(f), aka the “Roommate Law,” a residential lease entered into by one tenant implicitly permits that tenant to share the apartment withtheirimmediate family and/or unrelated persons “for reasons of economy, safety and companionship.”

So, ifthere is only one tenant on the lease, the tenant, the tenant’s immediate family, one additional occupant, and the dependent children of the additional occupant are allowed to livein thatapartment so long as it is the tenant’s (or the tenant’s spouse’s) primary residence.

If there is more than one tenant on the lease…

Any residential lease signed by two or more tenants permits occupancy of: the tenants, the tenants’ immediate family, occupants (i.e., an unrelated person not named on the lease), and the dependent children of those occupants.

However,Real Property Law §235-f 3-4states thatthenumber of occupants in anapartment (i.e., those who are not named in the lease) should not exceed the number of tenants. So, if two people sign a lease, there shouldbe no more than four occupants living in the apartment at one time.

So iftwo people signa lease for a studio, can four people live there?

Probablynot. This is where things start to get tricky; according to section §27–2075 of the Housing Maintenance Code, every person in an apartment or a one- or two-family home must have a livable area of no less than 80 square feet. So, the maximum number of people who are legally allowed to occupy an apartmentisdetermined by dividing the total livable floor area of the apartment by 80square feet.The “livable floor area” of the apartment does not take into account the area ofprivate halls, foyers, bathrooms or closet space, but it does include the kitchen.

The abovefloor plan shows 696.84 livable square feet. This square footage divided by 80square feet equals 8.7 people, so eight peopleare legally permittedto live in this two-bedroom.

TheHousing Maintenance Code also states that for every two people lawfully occupying an apartment, one child under four is also permitted to reside there. Since thistwo-bedroom has eight units of 80 square feet, eight people over the age of four and four children under four may live there. However, by definition of the U.S. Census Bureau, this many people in the above apartment would be considered severely crowded, as there would be more than 1.5 persons per room.

In the eventof thechild turning four, or in the event of the birth of a child, the number of people in the apartment will exceed maximum occupancy— but the Housing Maintenance Code states that thisis legally permissible for one year.

What exactly does my landlord have a right to know?

In the event of an increase in the number of occupants, the tenant must advise the landlord of the new occupant’s name within 30days of moving in.

The landlord is allowed to request the names and relationships of all occupants, as well as the ages of any minors living in the apartment,and the tenantmust answer within 30days of thisrequest to avoid possible legal action and/or lease termination.

Other rules and stipulations…

• Landlords may limit the total number of people living in an apartment to comply with legal overcrowding standards.
• As long as the tenant or the tenant’s spouse is living in the apartmentfull time, the landlord must allow the tenant’s immediate family to move in, along with one additional occupant.
• If the tenant named in the lease moves out, the remaining occupant has no legal right to continue occupancy in the apartment without the landlord’s express consent.

You can read more about real-life examples of the roommate law from real estate litigation expertMichelle Itzkowitz here.

[This post has been updated and republished.]

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