Leasing a For-Hire Vehicle.
35 RCNY § 59A-21
in effect§ 59A-21 Leasing a For-Hire Vehicle.
(a) A For-Hire Vehicle Owner may lease a Vehicle to a Driver, or otherwise make a Vehicle available to a Driver for use in exchange for compensation, for any period of time if the Owner complies with the provisions of this section.
(1) Written records required under this section must be provided to the Driver who is leasing or otherwise obtaining the use of the Vehicle and must be maintained in hard copy or electronically.
(b) Lease Must Be in Writing.
(1) All leases, including any amendments, must be in writing and signed by the lessor and leasing Driver. Electronic signatures are permissible for electronic leases.
(2) A copy of the fully executed lease must be provided to the leasing Driver upon lease execution and upon the Driver's request.
35 RCNY § 59A-21(b)(1)-(2) Fine: $500 per missing lease Appearance NOT REQUIRED
(3) Terms. The lease must provide:
(i) The beginning date and time and ending date and time of the lease.
(ii) All costs and possible fees that may be charged by the lessor.
(A) For each cost and fee that will be charged, the lease must provide in clear and unambiguous language an explanation of the cost or fee.
(B) For each cost and fee that may be charged, the lease must provide in clear and unambiguous language an explanation of the conditions that will result in the imposition of such cost or fee.
(C) If a cancellation fee is included in the lease, the lease must specify the minimum prior notice that must be provided by Drivers to avoid the cancellation fee.
(D) The lease must specify if the Driver will be responsible for physical damage to the vehicle. However, if the lessor Owner receives compensation for damages to the Vehicle incurred from an entity other than the Driver, any amount previously paid by the Driver as compensation for damages must be refunded to the Driver.
(E) If the lease includes the conditional purchase of the Vehicle, the lease must provide the Vehicle sales price and an itemized total of all other fees and costs to be paid before title to the Vehicle will be passed to the Driver.
(F) If the lessor permits subleasing, all restrictions on subleases must be specified in the lease. These restrictions must include, at a minimum, that only Drivers with a Valid TLC License may sublease the Vehicle.
(G) If a security deposit is included in the lease, the terms and costs of the security deposit must be specified in the lease, including all costs that may be reimbursed from the security deposit. The lease must provide the number of days after termination of the lease, not to exceed 30 days, when the lessor will return the security deposit.
(4) Overcharges. Every lease must contain clearly legible notice that overcharging a Driver is prohibited by the Commission's Rules, and that complaints of overcharges may be made to the Commission or by calling 311.
(5) [Reserved.] (limitations on costs and fees related to the lease of a For-Hire Vehicle)
35 RCNY § 59A-21(b)(3)-(5) Fine: First violation: $500; Second and subsequent violations: $1,000 and/or suspension for up to 30 days. In addition to the penalty payable to the Commission, the Hearing Officer must order the lessor to pay restitution to the Driver, equal to the amount charged to the Driver in violation of this rule. Appearance REQUIRED
(c) Fees Charged to Drivers.
(1) A lessor may require payment of only those costs and fees provided in the lease. Requiring payment of costs and fees not provided in the lease is an overcharge.
(2) A lessor cannot charge, request or accept a tip.
(3) A lessor cannot require payment of a summons not written to the Driver, except the following summonses issued to the Vehicle Owner:
(i) Any parking tickets or red light violations issued during the lease if the Driver was provided an opportunity to dispute the ticket; and
(ii) Fines for violation of 35 RCNY § 59B-26(a), provided that such fine was assessed because of the conduct of the Driver, and provided further the lessor is able to show that the Driver had notice of the inspection date, and provided further that the lease clearly states that inspection of the Vehicle as required by 35 RCNY § 59B-26(a) is the responsibility of the Driver.
35 RCNY § 59A-21(c)(1)-(3) Fine: First violation: $500; Second and subsequent violations: $1,000 and/or suspension for up to 30 days. In addition to the penalty payable to the Commission, the Hearing Officer must order the lessor to pay restitution to the Driver, equal to the amount charged to the Driver in violation of this rule. Appearance REQUIRED
(4) Vehicle Availability. The lease payment must be pro-rated if the Vehicle is unavailable for use during any part of the term of the lease for any reason that is not the lessee's responsibility.
35 RCNY § 59A-21(c)(4) Fine: First violation: $500; Second and subsequent violations: $1,000 and/or suspension for up to 30 days. In addition to the penalty payable to the Commission, the Hearing Officer must order the lessee to pay restitution to the Driver, equal to the amount charged to the Driver in violation of this rule. Appearance REQUIRED
(5) Interior Advertising System Revenue. A lessor cannot charge, request or accept any fee from a driver for revenue generated from an Interior Advertising System.
35 RCNY § 59A-21(c)(5) Fine: First violation: $500; Second and subsequent violations: $1,000 and/or suspension for up to 30 days. In addition to the penalty payable to the Commission, the lessor must pay restitution to the Driver, equal to the amount charged to the Driver in violation of this rule. Appearance NOT REQUIRED
(d) Driver Earnings.
(1) Driver earnings received by the lessor must be remitted to the Driver. The lessor may only deduct costs and fees from the Driver's earnings if those costs and fees are specified in the lease as required in Subdivision (b) of this section and the lease further provides that such costs and fees will be withheld from the Driver's earnings.
35 RCNY § 59A-21(d)(1) Fine: First violation: $200 Second violation: $300 Third violation: $500 In addition to the penalty payable to the Commission, the Hearing Officer must order the lessor to pay restitution to the Driver, equal to the amount owed to the Driver. Appearance REQUIRED
(2) Drivers must be paid earnings within one week of a trip's completion.
35 RCNY § 59A-21(d)(2) Fine: $100 In addition to the penalty payable to the Commission, the Hearing Officer must order the lessor to pay restitution to the Driver, equal to the cost to the Driver. Appearance NOT REQUIRED
(e) Written Receipt. For every financial transaction completed under the lease or these Rules, the lessor must give a written receipt to the Driver.
(1) The receipt must include the name of the Driver and the Vehicle license number.
(2) The receipt must clearly state the following information with respect to the payment or deduction:
(i) The date;
(ii) The name of the recipient;
(iii) The amount and calculations showing how the amount was determined;
(iv) The purpose of the payment or deduction;
(v) The number of the section of this chapter or provision of the lease that authorizes the payment or deduction; and
(vi) For leases including the conditional purchase of the Vehicle, an accounting of the portion of each payment made under the lease that is devoted to the conditional purchase of the Vehicle, the cumulative amount paid towards the conditional purchase of the Vehicle, and the number of payments remaining.
35 RCNY § 59A-21(e) Fine: $200 per missing receipt Appearance REQUIRED
(f) Records Maintenance. A lessor must maintain for a period of three years from the date a lease expires or is cancelled:
(1) A copy of the executed lease and any lease amendments;
(2) Records of all itemized earnings paid to Drivers;
(3) Records of all itemized payments received from Drivers;
(4) Records of all itemized security deposit withholdings; and
(5) Records of all Drivers subleasing the Vehicle, including the dates and times of the sublease, the subleasing Drivers' names, DMV license number and TLC Driver License number.
35 RCNY § 59A-21(f) Fine: $100 for each missing item Appearance REQUIRED
(g) Collective Bargaining Exception. The provisions of this section do not apply to lessors and Drivers whose business relationship is governed by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.
(Added City Record 12/11/2018, eff. 1/10/2019; amended City Record 2/2/2023, eff. 3/4/2023; amended City Record 2/4/2025, eff. 3/6/2025)
Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-68408Fetched: 10/24/2026