Skip to main content
Fulltext search
FILTER RESULTS BY:
RECOMMENDED IN RENT
Moving to NYC after college? Here's how to find a rental apartment
RECOMMENDED IN BUY
How buying real estate in NYC is unlike anywhere else
RECOMMENDED IN SELL
A guide to using a no-fee renovation loan from a NYC real estate firm
RECOMMENDED IN IMPROVE
How to make your NYC renovation more pet-friendly
BEST REAL ESTATE WEBSITE!
National Association of Real Estate Editors
BEST REAL ESTATE WEBSITE! National Association of Real Estate Editors
Brick Underground
Social Links
follow:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Flipboard
  • search
Brick Underground
☰ Brick Underground
Brick Underground
Brick Underground
☰
Brick Underground
  • Buy
    • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
    Haley and JP move to Prospect Lefferts Gardens
    New Construction + Condos
    From Prospect Heights to Prospect Lefferts Garden: We wanted three bedrooms so we could each have a home office
    An image of the top of a brick New York City apartment building, including its parapet.
    Design + Architecture
    Parapet inspections: What NYC boards and building owners need to know about Local Law 126
    one-bedroom condo at 702 Hancock Street
    The Search
    7 reasons why ground-floor apartments are desirable—instead of dealbreakers
  • Rent
    • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
    Midtown Manhattan seen from Roosevelt Island tramway
    The Market
    Manhattan median rent spiked 6 percent to $4,500 in April
    Tenant protest outside Rent Guidelines Board preliminary vote
    Affordable Housing
    Rent Guidelines Board intends to raise stabilized rents for a fourth time
    A beautiful pink flowering cherry tree next to an old brick residential building with a fire escape in Astoria Queens New York during spring
    The Search
    A wet, hot, broker fee-free summer? A major change to rental broker fees is supposed to start in June
  • Sell
    • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
    Madison avenue and East 67th Street, Manhattan, New York City
    Sell
    Median sales price for Manhattan co-ops and condos jumps to $1,165,000
    new condo building and older co-op buildings in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
    Sell
    Brooklyn median price nears $1 million but the spring market is a question mark
    View of NYC condo buildings from New Jersey
    Sell
    Private listings: What NYC sellers and buyers need to know about the off-market controversy
  • Live
    • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
    FlatRate moving brick underground
    Live
    How to troubleshoot your move in advance
    Sponsored By flatrate
    big apple moving NYC
    Troubleshooting
    How can I save money when hiring a moving company in NYC?
    Sponsored By Big Apple Moving
    Houses and apartment buildings in Queens, NYC
    Troubleshooting
    Mayor Adams is bringing the tax lien sale back. Here’s how to get your property off the list
  • Improve
    • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide
    An image of the top of a brick New York City apartment building, including its parapet.
    Design + Architecture
    Parapet inspections: What NYC boards and building owners need to know about Local Law 126
    solar panels on a small house roof
    Design + Architecture
    Simple Yet Powerful Steps To Turn Your Apartment Eco-Friendly
    Sponsored By Ecoflow
    This is a photograph of a street in the Upper West Side in NYC viewed from the Summit in Central Park through bare tree branches.
    Renovation
    Fewer buyers, steeper rents, and costlier renovations: How tariffs could impact NYC real estate
  • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards
    • Finance
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Property Management
    • Structure & Systems
    • Sustainability
    Burned and Boarded Up Windows
    When should your board hire a public adjuster?
    Manhattan GM
    What should we consider when renewing insurance for our building?
    Facade of NYC buildings
    How much is insurance on a NYC co-op or condo building?
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with us
    • Sponsored Content
    • Experts
    FlatRate moving brick underground
    Live
    How to troubleshoot your move in advance
    Sponsored By flatrate
    Apartment buildings at Grand and Crosby streets in Soho, Manhattan
    Affordable Housing
    Ask Altagracia: My mom is moving out of our rent-stabilized apartment. How do I take over the lease?
    Sponsored By Outerbridge Law P.C.
    big apple moving NYC
    Troubleshooting
    How can I save money when hiring a moving company in NYC?
    Sponsored By Big Apple Moving
  • Brick Report
  • About Us
  • About Us
Email Address
Fulltext search
FILTER RESULTS BY:
New Main menu
  • Buy
    • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
  • Rent
    • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
  • Sell
    • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
  • Live
    • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
  • Improve
    • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide
  • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards
    • Finance
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Property Management
    • Structure & Systems
    • Sustainability
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with us
    • Sponsored Content
    • Experts
  • Brick Report
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertise
  • About Us
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER →
Social Links Footer
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Search
Ask Altagracia [ SPONSORED ]

Ask Sam: I’m rent-stabilized. What is the procedure for subletting my apartment?

By Himmelstein McConnell Gribben & Joseph LLP  | November 1, 2017 - 10:00AM
image

Rent-stabilized tenants are legally allowed to sublet, but they have to follow specific guidelines.

Stocksy

SHARE:
Share to Facebook
Share to Twitter
Print
More...

I live in a rent-stabilized apartment. Am I allowed to sublet it? What are the rules for subletting?

“No matter what your landlord tells you about subletting as a rent-stabilized tenant, you have the right to sublet,” says Sam Himmelstein, a lawyer with the firm Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph LLP who represents residential and commercial tenants and tenant associations.

Section 226-B of the New York State Real Property Law—passed in 1983—permits stabilized tenants to sublet, but they must follow specific guidelines governing their subleases that don’t apply to market-rate tenants.

“What's really important in any subletting is that you follow procedures set forth to the letter,” Himmelstein says.

Documentation

Your first step is to submit a written request to your landlord, at least 60 days in advance of when you intend to begin subletting. Your landlord then has 10 days to ask you for additional information in a questionnaire (more on that below), and then another 30 days from when you mail them back to respond to the sublease request.

“One big no-no is that you cannot move the subtenant in before the landlord has had the opportunity to consent,” Himmelstein says, which is why you want to leave yourself and your landlord plenty of time to handle the paperwork.  

Your written request must include your proposed subtenant’s name and home and business addresses, as well as where you’ll be living during the sublease period. You’ll also need to draft a sublease (for which you can find templates online), and attach that to your original and current renewal leases.

Remember that the subtenant must follow the rules set forth in your original lease. For instance, if your lease forbids pets, your subtenant can’t have one, either.

You and your subtenant must sign an “acknowledgment” of both the over-lease and the sublease in the presence of a notary. Then, send the documents to your landlord via certified mail.

The landlord’s response

By law, your landlord cannot “unreasonably refuse consent” to your sublease. What constitutes “unreasonable,” Himmelstein points out, can be subjective. That said, you don’t have to demonstrate that you’re subletting out of need.

“It could be that you want to travel for a year, or have chosen to go teach somewhere for a year, or your band is touring for a year,” he says. “There just needs to be a bona fide reason why you're going to be out of the apartment.”

Your landlord may send you a questionnaire to learn more about your proposed subtenant and to elaborate about your reason for subletting, which can’t be “unduly burdensome.” Himmelstein says this means that your landlord “can ask almost anything about the subtenant that they would ask of a tenant who was applying: their finances, job history, bankruptcies, credit reports, recommendations.” 

Note, though, that the landlord can’t use this as an opportunity to rescreen you as a tenant by asking for your financial information again.

Once you return the questionnaire, the landlord has four options: “The landlord can ignore your request, which is a deemed consent, and the tenant can go ahead with the sublease,” Himmelstein says. “The landlord can deny your request and give no reason, which is taken as consent because it's considered unreasonable. They can consent, which is easy. Or they can deny the request and give you a reason.”

“Reasonable grounds” for refusal includes factors like the proposed subtenant lacking visible income, having poor credit, or having a criminal history.

What to do if your landlord refuses your request

If you suspect your landlord’s reason for denying your request would be legally considered “unreasonable,” you could opt to go ahead with the sublease anyway.

“The landlord may then bring an illegal sublet holdover against the tenant. They’ll serve a notice to cure and then a notice to terminate your lease, bring you to court, and claim you’re illegally subletting,” Himmelstein says. “The tenant can defend themselves on the basis that they followed the statute and the landlord’s refusal was unreasonable.”

If the court decides that you’re in the wrong, this would be considered a “curable” breach of your tenancy. You can remedy the issue by getting your subtenant to move out, by taking substantial steps to do so, and/or by resuming occupancy of the apartment. Keep in mind that being taken to housing court will likely land you on the tenant blacklist.

Rules for subletting a stabilized apartment if you get this far

If all goes smoothly and you get permission to sublet, you’ll have to abide by specific rules as a stabilized tenant.

You cannot overcharge for your apartment: The most you’re permitted to charge is rent, plus an additional 10 percent if you are providing a fully furnished unit.

“If the landlord finds out you’re charging more, the courts may say overcharging is incurable,” Himmelstein says, which could mean losing your lease—and having to pay your subtenant damages.

You can also only sublet for up to two years within a four-year period, and if you want to switch subtenants, you must go through the process of sending a new request to your landlord.  You can sublet for up to two years even if your lease is scheduled to expire during the sublease term.

If you sublet to the same person for two years, the renewal lease will still be sent to you. You’ll also retain all your rights as the tenant.

Finally, Himmelstein says, “Never use Airbnb or similar services to do a sublet.”

Remember that just as you have the right to sublet, your landlord has the right to screen subtenants. 

Related: 

Ask Sam: I spend most nights at my boyfriend's place these days. Can my landlord kick me out of my rent-stabilized apartment? (sponsored)

Ask Sam: Can I become a snowbird and still keep my rent-stabilized apartment? (sponsored)

Ask Sam: How much notice do I have to give my landlord to leave a rent-stabilized apartment? (sponsored)

Attention NYC renters: thanks to a new ruling, your apartment might be rent-stabilized after all (sponsored)

Read all the Ask a Renters' Rights Lawyer columns here.


Sam Himmelstein, Esq. represents NYC tenants and tenant associations in disputes over evictions, rent increases, rental conversions, rent stabilization law, lease buyouts, and many other issues. He is a partner at Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph in Manhattan. To submit a question for this column, click here. To ask about a legal consultation, email Sam or call (212) 349-3000.

Alanna Schubach

Alanna Schubach

Contributing writer

Contributing editor Alanna Schubach has over a decade of experience as a New York City-based freelance journalist.

SEE MORE BY Alanna Schubach »
Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics:

Ask Altagracia rent regulation subletting
SHARE
TWEET
BRICK’S PICKS
Historic brick facades of NYC apartment buildings
Getting overcharged by a landlord? Here’s how the Tenant Protection Unit helps rent-stabilized tenants
Apartment buildings in Soho
New Rent Guidelines Board report justifies a rent freeze, tenant advocates claim
Brooklyn apartment buildings
Understanding net effective rent: Here's how to calculate your real monthly rent
image
How much should you renovate your NYC apartment or house before selling?
Council Member Shahana Hanif hold press conference before the City Council vote on Arrow Linen spot rezoning.
City Council signs off on 10-story towers for Arrow Linen site
couple standing close, only jeans-clad legs showing
Can my boyfriend claim ownership of my condo if we break up?
Follow Brick on Instagram
@brickunderground | #brickunderground
Brick UndergroundBRICK UNDERGROUNDREAL LIFE. REAL ESTATE. REAL NEW YORK.
Social Links Footer
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Search
Main menu footer
  • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
  • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
  • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
  • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
  • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide

Get more news you can actually use...

The subscription service is currently unavailable. Please check again later.

Delivered to your inbox weekly - for free.

*By signing up you agree to receive occasional emails on behalf of our sponsors

Footer Menu
  • About Us
  • Advertise

Copyright 2009-2024 by BND Ventures Inc | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Ad Choices | Login