Is a lease agreement in which a tenant waives rights valid?

Full question:

I moved into an apartment in White Plains, New York about two months back. In the lease agreement signed by me, there was a provision stating that the landlord had undertaken all repairs necessary to make the apartment fit for living and the tenant is completely responsible for the maintenance of the house from the date of handing over of possession till the expiry of the lease. It has been raining for the past two days and I saw that the roof is leaking resulting in my living room becoming wet and damp. I never expected that the apartment would have such major problems. Can I force my landlord to pay for the cost of repairing the roof?

• Category: Abandoned Property
• Subcategory: Landlord Tenant
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: New York

Answer:

Under New York law, the landlord in every lease warrants that the leased premises and common areas shared with other tenants are completely fit for human habitation. Moreover any agreement by which the tenant waives this right is held void and unenforceable as it is against public policy. So  landlord cannot escape from this warranty of habitability and is liable to pay for the damages incurred by the tenant in repairing the unfit or hazardous condition.

These provisions are contained in  N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-b which reads:
 

“1. In every written or oral lease or rental agreement for residential premises the landlord or lessor shall be deemed to covenant and warrant that the premises so leased or rented and all areas used in connection therewith in common with other tenants or residents are fit for human habitation and for the uses reasonably intended by the parties and that the occupants of such premises shall not be subjected to any conditions which would be dangerous, hazardous or detrimental to their life, health or safety. When any such condition has been caused by the misconduct of the tenant or lessee or persons under his direction or control, it shall not constitute a breach of such covenants and warranties.
2. Any agreement by a lessee or tenant of a dwelling waiving or modifying his rights as set forth in this section shall be void as contrary to public policy.
3. In determining the amount of damages sustained by a tenant as a result of a breach of the warranty set forth in the section, the court;1
(a) need not require any expert testimony; and
(b) shall, to the extent the warranty is breached or cannot be cured by reason of a strike or other labor dispute which is not caused primarily by the individual landlord or lessor and such damages are attributable to such strike, exclude recovery to such extent, except to the extent of the net savings, if any, to the landlord or lessor by reason of such strike or labor dispute allocable to the tenant's premises, provided, however, that the landlord or lesser2 has made a good faith attempt, where practicable, to cure the breach.
(c) where the premises is subject to regulation pursuant to the local emergency housing rent control law,3 the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four,4 the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine5 or the city rent and rehabilitation law,6 reduce the amount awarded hereunder by the total amount of any rent reduction ordered by the state division of housing and community renewal pursuant to such laws or act, awarded to the tenant, from the effective date of such rent reduction order, that relates to one or more matters for which relief is awarded hereunder.”