Breaking an Algin Management Lease: Assignment or Sublet?

Step 1 · Permission

Ask your Algin building team about the available exit.

Use the management contact in your lease or resident correspondence. If you need routing, Algin’s contact page lists leasing at 212-213-1727 and the management office at 212-213-9600. Give the building, address, and unit.

Say whether everyone is leaving, one roommate is changing, or the absence is temporary. Ask who handles consent and release, and follow the lease’s formal notice instructions separately.

Step 2 · Written terms

Get the approved offer before selecting a replacement.

• Rent and dates: the incoming rent, start date, remaining or new term, and any concession.
• Application: current criteria, accepted co-signer arrangements, checklist, and submission route.
• Costs: an itemized quote, who pays each charge, and security handling.
• Release: the agreement, signatures, funds, and effective date ending your obligations.

For a roommate change, ask how remaining tenants are reviewed and which departing tenants and guarantors are released. If the replacement starts later than planned, confirm who pays for the gap.

Step 3 · Choose the route

Confirm the structure before describing a takeover.

If you want another Algin apartment, ask for both the new lease offer and the agreement ending your old tenancy. Resolve dates, deposits, and any overlap before committing to the move.

New York Real Property Law § 226-b generally requires written owner consent for assignment. Covered apartments in buildings with four or more residential units have a separate sublet procedure. Regulated and special-program apartments can have additional rules; follow the applicable process for a temporary absence.

Step 4 · Applicant requirements

Check the published baseline and the applicable exception.

Algin’s regular-rental page states 50× monthly rent in annual applicant income, combines income for two applicants, and lists 80× for a co-signer residing in the United States. Its income requirements do not apply to Housing Choice Vouchers and other publicly financed rental assistance.

Ask leasing which criteria apply to your transaction and how self-employment, a new job, variable earnings, or other income is documented. Confirm the accepted guarantor arrangement before a prospect pays for a policy.

For a restricted apartment, check program eligibility before marketing it as available to any renter. A published income multiple does not by itself settle application approval or permission for your exit.

Step 5 · Apply

Get the package for your building and household.

Have the building team send the application version and submission instructions for your unit. The public rental checklist includes:

• Recent bank statements and photo ID.
• An employment verification letter.
• Four consecutive paystubs or W-2 statements.
• A landlord reference and tax returns if other income proof is unavailable.

Confirm what each adult and co-signer must supply, and ask which alternatives are accepted when a document does not fit the applicant. Submit sensitive records through the designated channel, then confirm receipt, missing items, and the decision contact.

Keep the address, rent, dates, and household consistent across the approved offer and application. Do not share your resident login with the incoming renter.

Step 6 · Find the replacement

Present your apartment’s approved rent and dates.

Once authorized, use current photos, the actual layout, approved rent, available date, and lease length. Explain furniture, recurring charges, and whether the offer covers the whole apartment or a roommate change.

Arrange occupied showings with the household and building. For a short remaining term, ask whether a renewal can be documented. For a new replacement lease, confirm which concessions apply to that offer.

Do not copy another vacancy’s price or concession. Have management approve changes before revising your listing. Keep any incentive you fund separate from the recurring rent the owner will collect.

Step 7 · Money

Separate screening, security, and your exit quote.

Algin’s rental page lists a $20 background-check fee. For covered applications, § 238-a limits background and credit checks to actual cost or $20, whichever is less, requires a report copy and receipt or invoice, and provides a waiver for a qualifying report from the past 30 days.

Request a separate exit breakdown covering final rent, any proposed transfer or surrender charge, concession treatment, move costs, and security. Ask what each charge covers and where it is authorized.

Under § 7-108, covered deposits or advances generally cannot exceed one month’s rent, subject to statutory exceptions. Request current deposit instructions rather than relying on the rental page’s extra-security wording.

Confirm how your deposit is accounted for and what the incoming renter pays. Do not assume it transfers or covers final rent. Agree separately on any brokerage service or incentive you fund.

Step 8 · Finish the transfer

Confirm your release before the renter receives possession.

Check the signed documents for the apartment, departing tenants and guarantors, release date, required funds, and any remaining conditions. Coordinate the incoming start date with the end of your rent responsibility.

Arrange the move reservation, mover insurance, elevator access, inspection, and key or fob return. Photograph the apartment, align utilities and services with possession, and retain the final ledger and security correspondence.

Plan around permission, a complete application, approval, signatures, payments, and access. If a candidate withdraws or the start date changes, get revised rent and release terms in writing before moving.

Find a replacement renter

I can help turn management’s terms into a listing and a qualified applicant.

I prepare the listing, manage inquiries and showings, screen prospective renters, and help the selected applicant complete management’s requirements. Management makes the approval decision. My role and broker fee are agreed in writing before marketing starts.

Send the address, rent, lease end date, preferred move date, and management’s reply.

Discuss my lease

For the broader legal options, see the NYC lease-break guide.