New York Privacy, Guests & Animal Rules
New York rules on privacy, guests & animals for renters and landlords, with the statute or official page behind each answer. Last verified: 2026-10-22.
Short answer: No landlord-specific camera statute. Unlawful surveillance in the second degree (class E felony) includes using or installing an imaging device to surreptitiously view, broadcast, or record a person dressing or undressing or their intimate parts where they expect privacy, or to… N.Y. Penal Law § 250.45
The rules in New York
| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific camera statute. Unlawful surveillance in the second degree (class E felony) includes using or installing an imaging device to surreptitiously view, broadcast, or record a person dressing or undressing or their intimate parts where they expect privacy, or to surreptitiously record in a bedroom, bathroom, changing room, or shower with no legitimate purpose (device use in those rooms creates a rebuttable presumption of no legitimate purpose). Tenants have a right to privacy within their apartments; landlords may enter on reasonable prior notice at reasonable times, or without notice in emergencies. Source: N.Y. Penal Law § 250.45 |
|---|---|
| Guests & occupants | The 'Roommate Law': a landlord may not restrict occupancy to the tenant and immediate family. A sole tenant may live with immediate family, one additional occupant, and that occupant's dependent children; on a multi-tenant lease, total tenants plus occupants (excluding occupants' dependent children) may not exceed the number of tenants on the lease. The tenant or spouse must use the unit as a primary residence, and the tenant must tell the landlord an occupant's name within 30 days of move-in or of the landlord's request. Occupants gain no tenancy rights. Lease waivers are void. Landlords may still limit occupancy to comply with federal, state, or local overcrowding laws. Violations allow an injunction, actual damages, and costs. Source: N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-f |
| Service & support animals (state law) | Housing providers must make reasonable accommodations in rules and policies for persons with disabilities, including permitting an assistance animal. It is an unlawful discriminatory practice to deny access to or discriminate against a person with a disability accompanied by a guide, hearing, or service dog, and no additional charge may be imposed for admittance of such a dog. No state statute sets documentation rules for emotional support animals or penalizes service-animal misrepresentation in housing. In New York City and Westchester multiple dwellings, a no-pet lease clause may be waived if the tenant keeps a pet openly and notoriously for three months with the owner's knowledge (NYC Admin. Code § 27-2009.1(b); Westchester County Laws ch. 695.11), with exceptions for public housing and animals causing damage or nuisance. |
Related questions
- Can a landlord put cameras in or around a rental?
- Can a landlord limit overnight guests or roommates?
- Can a landlord deny a service or emotional support animal?
New York vs. neighboring states
| State | Cameras & privacy | Guests & occupants | Service & support animals (state law) |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | No landlord-specific camera statute. Unlawful surveillance in the second degree (class E felony) includes using or installing an imaging device to surreptitiously view, broadcast, or record a person dressing or undressing or their intimate parts where they expect privacy, or to surreptitiously record in a bedroom, bathroom, changing room, or shower with no legitimate purpose (device use in those rooms creates a rebuttable presumption of no legitimate purpose). N.Y. Penal Law § 250.45 | The 'Roommate Law': a landlord may not restrict occupancy to the tenant and immediate family. A sole tenant may live with immediate family, one additional occupant, and that occupant's dependent children; on a multi-tenant lease, total tenants plus occupants (excluding occupants' dependent children) may not exceed the number of tenants on the lease. The tenant or spouse must use the unit as a primary residence, and the tenant must tell the landlord an occupant's name within 30 days of move-in or of the landlord's request. Occupants gain no tenancy rights. Lease waivers are void. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-f | Housing providers must make reasonable accommodations in rules and policies for persons with disabilities, including permitting an assistance animal. It is an unlawful discriminatory practice to deny access to or discriminate against a person with a disability accompanied by a guide, hearing, or service dog, and no additional charge may be imposed for admittance of such a dog. No state statute sets documentation rules for emotional support animals or penalizes service-animal misrepresentation in housing. N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(14), (18)(2); N.Y. Civ. Rights Law § 47-b |
| Connecticut | No landlord-specific statute. Knowingly recording another person's image without knowledge and consent while they are not in plain view and reasonably expect privacy, with malice or sexual intent, is voyeurism (felony). Mechanical overhearing or recording of a conversation without the consent of at least one party, by someone not present, is eavesdropping (class D felony). Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 53a-189a, 53a-187, 53a-189 | No statute — lease governs. Connecticut sets no guest-versus-tenant rule, statewide occupancy limit or roommate right for private rentals. The tenant must require people on the premises with the tenant's consent to behave so as not to disturb neighbors or create a nuisance. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-11(g) | Connecticut has no housing-specific statute on emotional support animal documentation, misrepresentation penalties or pet-fee limits. Disability discrimination in housing is prohibited by the state fair housing law, and the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities must post educational materials on the differences between service, emotional support and therapy animals and how a landlord may lawfully determine which an animal is. Service animals in public accommodations may be kept at no extra charge. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 46a-64c, 46a-64d, 46a-64(a) |
| Massachusetts | No landlord-specific statute. Massachusetts is an all-party-consent state: secretly recording a conversation without the prior authority of ALL parties is a crime. It is also a crime to secretly photograph, videotape or electronically surveil someone who is nude or partially nude where they would reasonably expect privacy, without their knowledge and consent. The penalty is up to 2½ years in a house of correction and/or a $5,000 fine. Visible cameras in common areas aren't specifically regulated, but audio recording in those cameras raises wiretap concerns. M.G.L. c. 272, § 99 (definition of 'interception'); c. 272, § 105(b) | No statute on guests versus tenants or roommate rights — the lease governs. The State Sanitary Code sets occupancy limits: at least 150 square feet of habitable floor space for the first occupant and 100 square feet for each additional occupant. Each bedroom needs at least 70 square feet for one person, or 50 square feet per person if shared. 105 CMR 410.420(D); M.G.L. c. 186 and c. 239 (checked) | State fair housing law bans discrimination against tenants because of a disability or because they have a trained dog guide due to blindness or hearing impairment. Landlords must make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies and services when needed for a person with a disability to use and enjoy housing, which covers exceptions to no-pet rules for assistance animals. No state statute sets documentation rules, pet-fee limits, or penalties for misrepresenting an animal in housing. M.G.L. c. 151B, § 4(6), (7), (7A) |
| New Jersey | No landlord-specific camera statute. It is a crime to observe another person without consent, knowing one is not licensed or privileged to do so, where a reasonable person would know the person may expose intimate parts or engage in sexual activity and would not expect to be observed. The same statute separately criminalizes photographing, filming, or recording such a person and disclosing such images. N.J.S.A. 2C:14-9 | No statute — lease governs guests and occupants. Leases may set conditions of occupancy and restrictions on subletting or assignment. N.J.S.A. 46:8-44 to -47 (Truth in Renting Act); lease | Under the Law Against Discrimination, a person with a disability, or who is blind or deaf, who has or obtains a service or guide dog is entitled to full and equal access to all housing and may not be charged extra for the dog; a no-pets lease clause does not apply to it, and the tenant is liable for damage the dog causes. Seniors in covered senior citizen housing projects (3+ units) may keep pets after written notice to the landlord. No state statute sets emotional support animal documentation rules or penalizes misrepresentation in housing. N.J.S.A. 10:5-29.2; N.J.S.A. 2A:42-103 et seq. (Pets in Housing Projects) |
| Pennsylvania | No landlord-specific statute. Viewing or recording a person without knowledge and consent, for sexual gratification, while the person is fully or partially nude in a place with a reasonable expectation of privacy (or recording intimate parts not intended to be publicly visible) is criminal invasion of privacy. Intercepting oral, wire or electronic communications is a third-degree felony unless all parties consent (two-party/all-party consent state). 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 7507.1, 5703, 5704(4) | In tenement buildings and multiple dwelling premises (three or more households), tenants have a non-waivable right to invite social guests, family or visitors for a reasonable period of time, and business visitors, tradesmen and deliverymen, as long as tenant obligations are observed; the landlord may not charge any fee or extra rent for exercising these rights. Tenants must not let persons on the premises with their permission willfully damage the property or disturb other tenants. No statewide occupancy limit or roommate statute. 68 P.S. §§ 250.501-A, 250.503-A, 250.504-A | The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act makes it unlawful to refuse to lease housing, or to discriminate in terms, because of disability or because of the use of a guide animal (blindness or deafness) or support animal (physical handicap), or because a person is a handler or trainer of guide or support animals; inquiries and records about such animal use in connection with a lease are restricted. Pennsylvania has no statute specifically on emotional support animal documentation, misrepresentation penalties or pet-fee limits. 43 P.S. § 955(h)(1), (h)(6) (PHRA § 5(h)) |
| Vermont | No landlord camera statute, but Vermont's voyeurism law expressly prohibits intentionally conducting surveillance of, or photographing, filming or recording, a person without the person's knowledge and consent while the person is in a place where the person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy within a home or residence. It also bars viewing or recording a person's intimate areas or sexual conduct without consent where privacy is expected. Landlord entry requires consent or at least 48 hours' notice, between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., for listed purposes, except in an emergency. 13 V.S.A. § 2605(b)-(d); 9 V.S.A. § 4460 | No statute — no statewide occupancy limit or guest rule; the lease governs. Vermont law allows a landlord to condition or prohibit subleasing in a written lease and to require written notice of any sublessee's name and contact information (without a written lease, the tenant must give that notice). The tenant must ensure persons on the premises with the tenant's consent do not disturb other tenants or damage the premises. 9 V.S.A. § 4456(b)-(c); § 4456b | Vermont fair housing law makes it unlawful to discriminate in renting a dwelling because a person relies on aids such as specially trained animals, or to refuse reasonable accommodations in rules, policies or services needed for a person with a disability to use and enjoy a dwelling. No state statute sets emotional-support-animal documentation rules, pet-fee limits or a housing misrepresentation penalty; federal Fair Housing Act standards govern those questions. 9 V.S.A. § 4503(a)(9)-(10) |
City rules that may add to state law
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New York Privacy, Guests & Animal Rules FAQ
Can a landlord put cameras in or around a rental in New York?
No landlord-specific camera statute. Unlawful surveillance in the second degree (class E felony) includes using or installing an imaging device to surreptitiously view, broadcast, or record a person dressing or undressing or their intimate parts where they expect privacy, or to surreptitiously record in a bedroom, bathroom, changing room, or shower with no legitimate purpose (device use in those rooms creates a rebuttable presumption of no legitimate purpose). (N.Y. Penal Law § 250.45)
Can a landlord limit guests or roommates in New York?
The 'Roommate Law': a landlord may not restrict occupancy to the tenant and immediate family. A sole tenant may live with immediate family, one additional occupant, and that occupant's dependent children; on a multi-tenant lease, total tenants plus occupants (excluding occupants' dependent children) may not exceed the number of tenants on the lease. The tenant or spouse must use the unit as a primary residence, and the tenant must tell the landlord an occupant's name within 30 days of move-in or of the landlord's request. Occupants gain no tenancy rights. Lease waivers are void. (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-f)
Can a landlord deny a service or emotional support animal in New York?
Housing providers must make reasonable accommodations in rules and policies for persons with disabilities, including permitting an assistance animal. It is an unlawful discriminatory practice to deny access to or discriminate against a person with a disability accompanied by a guide, hearing, or service dog, and no additional charge may be imposed for admittance of such a dog. No state statute sets documentation rules for emotional support animals or penalizes service-animal misrepresentation in housing. (N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(14), (18)(2); N.Y. Civ. Rights Law § 47-b)
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.