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Legal Information: New York

Housing Laws

Updated: 
July 7, 2023

What happens if the judge ends my lease early?

If the judge decides that you have met the requirements to end your lease early, the judge will include in the order the exact date the lease will end. The termination date will be between 30 and 150 days after the due date of the next rent payment.

Before you can officially end your lease based on the judge’s order, you have to:

  • pay the landlord any money or rent due under the lease or rental agreement; and
  • make sure that the rental unit doesn’t have anyone else living in it (“deliver the premises to the landlord free from all occupants”). The only exceptions are that:
    • you are not responsible for making the abuser leave; and
    • any roommates who are allowed to stay according to the judge’s order can still be there.1

1 NY Real Prop § 227-c(2)(b)