Roommate move-out notice (NY)

There's no single statute requiring roommate-to-roommate notice — it's usually set by your roommate agreement, if you have one. If your household's tenancy is month-to-month (no active lease term), New York law requires 30 days' written notice to end the tenancy (General Obligations Law § 232-a), and giving that same notice to your roommates is a reasonable default even if only some of you are on the lease.

If your name is on the lease, moving out by itself usually does not end your legal responsibility for rent — leases typically make co-tenants jointly and severally liable, meaning the landlord can seek the full rent from any signer. You need the landlord's written agreement (a lease amendment, release, or replacement tenant) to be fully released.

The landlord returns the deposit to whoever is entitled to it under the lease, minus any lawful itemized deductions, within 14 days of the unit being fully vacated (General Obligations Law § 7-108). If roommates contributed to the deposit unevenly, agree in writing on how a refund will be divided among you before anyone moves out.

If you're on the lease, yes — notify the landlord in writing as well, since they may need to update records, process a lease change, or apply the 30-day notice rule for a month-to-month tenancy. If you're not on the lease (an unlisted roommate), this notice is primarily between you and your co-tenants, though it's still good practice to let the landlord know who's coming and going.

New York's Roommate Law (Real Property Law § 235-f) gives a tenant the right to share their apartment with immediate family, one additional occupant, and that occupant's dependent children, regardless of what the lease says about occupancy. It establishes who may lawfully live there — it doesn't set a notice period for a roommate leaving, which is why this notice and any roommate agreement fill that gap.