Lease Guaranty Program

The Stern Doctoral Office may serve as a guarantor for students seeking to lease an apartment. We understand that Stern doctoral students may not meet the income and financial history criteria that some landlords require, even though students may have sufficient income to cover the rent; and that students may not have personal guarantors or other means to support their lease applications.
Under this program, the Stern Doctoral Office will guaranty up to twelve months of rent, one time, for each eligible student, for leases deemed appropriate, to satisfy landlords’ leasing requirements. Students must be in good academic standing, and all parties on the lease must be Stern doctoral students.

Criteria for Applying

  • New and continuing Stern Doctoral students in years 1-4 are eligible to apply.
  • Applicants must expect to be enrolled full-time for the duration of the lease, and be in good academic standing, including having a 3.0 GPA or above at the time of application.
  • Leases would be guaranteed no more than once per student for the duration of the program.
  • Lease guaranties are for one year only, and not to extend if the student renews the lease.
  • Additional parties on the lease, other than the spouse of a married student or an eligible domestic partner (see Statement of Domestic Partnership form), must be students in the Stern Doctoral Program.
  • Each student whose rent is guaranteed must sign an Indemnity Agreement, which is a legally binding promise to reimburse the University for any amount paid to the landlord under the guaranty or any other cost or expense incurred by the University as a result of the guaranty.
  • Space in the lease guaranty program is limited and not all requests may be approved.
  • The applicant must be able to show that rent is reasonable and appropriate in light of the applicant’s financial circumstances. Reasonable and appropriate rent is determined by the Stern Doctoral Office.
  • The Stern Doctoral Office would have sole discretion in guarantying a lease, based on criteria that include the cost of rent, the student’s income, the student’s academic standing, and overall assessment that the student’s conduct in the program has been in accordance with the Stern and NYU code of conduct.
  • Each student shall provide to the Stern Doctoral Office, with their application, a print-out of their credit report dated no earlier than six months prior to the date of its delivery to Stern.

How to Apply

  • When you have found an apartment that you would like to rent, inform the landlord that you will need up to 48 hours to get approval for NYU to serve as a guarantor (Monday through Friday, not including weekends or holidays).
  • Complete the Lease Guaranty Application forms, including a copy of the actual lease application. These forms are available on the right-hand side of this page.
  • If you are married or in an eligible domestic partnership, provide a copy of your marriage license or the Statement of Domestic Partnership form, as appropriate.
  • For continuing students, have your area coordinator complete the Academic Verification Statement.
  • If the amount of rent for your lease is above what may be considered appropriate given your NYU stipend, you should provide official documentation of additional financial resources.
  • Provide a print-out of your credit report dated no earlier than six months prior to the date of its delivery to Stern.
  • Bring all documents to the Stern Doctoral Office at 40 West 4th Street, room 826 for review. Please allow up to 48 hours for this review to occur. If your application is approved, the Director of the Stern Doctoral Program will sign a Lease Guaranty Agreement, which will become an addendum to your lease. You will be required to sign the Indemnity Agreement. You then will be responsible to return the signed Lease Guaranty Agreement and the lease application to the landlord so that you and the landlord may sign the lease.
  • You must return a copy of the fully signed and completed lease to the Stern Doctoral Office within 48 hours after all parties have signed it.

Lease Guaranty Forms

Program Description
Program Application