Is landlord contract needed in addition to co-op's?

Question

I am renting a co-op which already has a contract about the rules and regulations for the tenant to sign. Do I need to have a separate contract with the tenant? We already agreed on the price and deposit, is there anything else that I need to address that is not typically covered on the co-op's contract?

David London · Answer

@Jenny Samedy Are you in Hempstead NY? You can use the Blumberg A-55 'New York Apartment Lease' these are standard forms that you can buy online or any stationary store (probably cheaper since they sell them loose)...I own two NY co-op rental and use it in both...another alternative if you work with an agent is using REBNY form which is very similar and would agent probably suggest with no charge to you.

In addition I follow my old landlady (an RE Agent) practice of supplementing it with a rider (copied hers) in which I stress/modify/add term which are important for me (for example that tenant cannot Airbnb the apt).

The co-op is a company which have their own interest which not necessarily align with yours...it just happen that sometime they allow you as a shareholder to sublet your unit.

In a co-op you are the tenant of the cooperative and your tenant is a sub-tenant...I would consult a RE agent about it but I don't think the co-op can even sign a lease with your tenant. They can require that your tenant will be approved by the coop management or board and that the tenant will be required to follow all house rule and bylaws of the coop (the same as you as a shareholder is required to do).

Mike McCarthy · Answer

@Jenny Samedy while a lease is not technically required, it will protect you. How much they pay, when do they pay, security deposit, term, if it changes to month-to-month, how termination works, what happens if they don’t pay rent, etc etc etc.

I assume the coop rules are mostly along  the lines of ‘don’t make a lot of noise, etc.

Jenny Samedy · Answer

@Mike McCarthy Thanks for your input. Exactly, I felt that the contract was too generic and didn't apply specifically to my interest. @David London, thanks a lot! That form is very helpful. We are not using an agent this time. Hopefully in the future we will have more properties to rent, then we will definitely will have to use one but as of now with one unit we used cozy and that worked well. Rookie's mistake I guess.I will download the form and make use of it.