Does the law require me to pay the whole rent if I break the lease due to inhabitable condition?

Full question:

I am living in a rented apartment in downtown New York. It is an old apartment built in 1950s. Due to the recent earthquake huge cracks have opened up on the walls and ceilings and floorboards have broken away in many places. I want to move out of the place but my landlord is insisting on me paying the rent for the rest of the lease period. Does the law require me to pay the whole rent if I break the lease?

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

Answer:

In New York if at any point of time after the lease begins, the premises becomes unfit for living due to any occurrence, than the tenant may be permitted to break the lease. Moreover the tenant is not liable to pay the balance of the rent for the lease period as long as the premises did not become unfit for living due to his actions. This is stated in N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 227 that reads:

“Where any building, which is leased or occupied, is destroyed or so injured by the elements, or any other cause as to be untenantable, and unfit for occupancy, and no express agreement to the contrary has been made in writing, the lessee or occupant may, if the destruction or injury occurred without his or her fault or neglect, quit and surrender possession of the leasehold premises, and of the land so leased or occupied; and he or she is not liable to pay to the lessor or owner, rent for the time subsequent to the surrender. Any rent paid in advance or which may have accrued by the terms of a lease or any other hiring shall be adjusted to the date of such surrender.”