Breaking a C+C Lease: Assignment or Sublet?

Step 1 · Permission

Ask your property manager how the replacement would be approved.

Contact your property manager. For routing, use C+C’s office at 212-348-3248 or info@ccmanagers.com. Include the apartment, leaseholders, lease end, and desired departure.

Say whether everyone is leaving, one roommate is changing, or you plan to return. Follow the notice method in your lease; a general inquiry may only start the conversation.

Step 2 · Written terms

Set the offer before looking for a renter.

• Rent and dates: the approved price, remaining term or new lease, concessions, and start conditions.
• Eligibility: the unit’s program, applicant-selection route, household limits, and application package.
• Costs: itemized charges, final rent, and both security deposits.
• Release: when each departing tenant’s and guarantor’s obligations end.

For a restricted unit, settle whether you can propose a household before paying to advertise or arranging showings.

Assignment or sublet?

Choose the route that matches a permanent move or a temporary absence.

New York law treats assignment and subletting differently. Admission-restricted housing can have additional rules or exclusions. Confirm the procedure for your apartment before relying on a general sublet process.

Step 3 · Qualification

Use the apartment’s current eligibility limits.

Ask for the applicable household size, income and asset limits, accepted income records, and treatment of assistance. If a guarantor is needed, ask whether one is accepted for this unit and what they must provide.

The C+C FAQ still displays income tables marked 2018. Request current figures before screening candidates. Check the proposed household and move date against the unit’s requirements before asking anyone to assemble a full file.

Step 4 · Application

Send the right records at the right stage.

C+C’s general FAQ describes free initial application submission without supporting documents or a money order, followed by eligibility documentation at an appointment. Ask which stages apply to your replacement and who will send the current checklist.

• Confirm the apartment and every household member on the package.
• Prepare the requested income, asset, household, and assistance records.
• Have applicants send sensitive documents directly to the authorized team.
• Ask what is missing, who reviews it, and what happens after eligibility approval.

Use current screening instructions. NYC Fair Chance Housing rules limit criminal-history inquiries by covered providers, including when checks may occur; do not copy blanket restrictions from an old form into your listing.

Step 5 · Find the replacement

Advertise only if management has authorized a replacement search.

Use the approved rent, term, eligibility requirements, recurring charges, and conditional start. State clearly if management must complete an income-restricted admission process. Do not promise an immediate move or a renewal that has not been approved.

• Photos: show the actual apartment and its condition.
• Access: agree on showing notice, hours, attendance, and keys.
• Preparation: settle cleaning, repairs, and any furniture staying.
• Incentives: document an outgoing payment separately from owner rent.

If the unit must be filled through a program’s selection process, ask management how you can support that process and coordinate your departure.

Fees and security

Get a written exit quote and separate the deposits.

Ask for each proposed charge, who pays it, when it is due, and what happens if the incoming household does not proceed. Compare the full replacement cost with any written early-termination offer.

• Final rent: the last day charged and any agreed proration.
• Security: outgoing refund or credit, incoming deposit, and deductions.
• Services: moving, utilities, and any permitted marketing work agreed in writing.

C+C’s FAQ says applicants in HDC low-income programs may not be charged broker fees. Confirm the unit’s program before arranging services. For covered screening, New York law limits reimbursement to actual cost or $20, whichever is less, with report, receipt, and recent-report waiver requirements.

Approval and handoff

Finish eligibility, signatures, and release before possession changes.

Ask management to coordinate the eligibility decision, any program approval, signed agreements, payments, and move date. Get confirmation that the conditions for ending your lease have been met.

• Check the release for every departing tenant and guarantor.
• Photograph the condition and finish agreed clearing or repairs.
• Arrange keys, fobs, building move access, and utilities.
• Provide forwarding details and retain the final ledger and security accounting.

Keep the executed documents. An eligibility appointment or approved applicant alone does not settle the outgoing tenancy.

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.