Hi, I’m Michelle Itkowitz, an instructor on the Tenant Learning Platform and Bushwick Daily’s Tenant’s Rights Advisor. This is the first article in a series that will bust some common myths contained in your apartment lease. As a New York City tenant, you have many rights. And no matter what your lease says, those rights cannot be taken away.

But how can you know which sections of your lease are binding and which are just…myths? This series will tackle your leasing issue one myth at a time. We’ll start with the section of your lease that says your apartment is for “living purposes only,” and what that means if you’d like to run a business in your apartment.

What Your Lease Says: