Breaking an Eberhart Brothers Lease: Assignment or Sublet?

Step 1 · Permission

Ask Eberhart Brothers for your apartment’s exit options.

Use your current building contact or call 212-570-2400 and ask for leasing, extension 2. Give the address and unit and identify the person handling owner consent and outgoing-tenant releases.

Say whether everyone is leaving, one roommate is changing, or you plan to return. Keep the reply and follow the formal notice method in your lease separately.

Step 2 · Written terms

Agree on the offer and access before finding someone.

• Rent and dates: approved rent, start date, remaining or new term, and any concession.
• Application: current criteria, guarantor options, checklist, and submission channel.
• Showings: who books, attends, and handles keys, plus the authorized listing material.
• Your exit: itemized charges, security instructions, required signatures, and release date.

For a roommate change, identify who stays liable and who must be released. Ask whether the remaining household or guaranty needs review and what happens if the replacement starts later.

Step 3 · Choose the route

Confirm the remaining term or a new lease before advertising.

If the remaining term is short, get a direct answer about whether management will consider it. Describe a later renewal only when the rent and term have been confirmed.

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; confirm the applicable route for a temporary absence.

Step 4 · Applicant requirements

Check the household against the current criteria.

The regular-rental FAQ lists 40× monthly rent in annual applicant income and 80× for guarantors, with roommate incomes combined. It describes case-by-case review, including other income or assets.

Ask how those guidelines apply to your approved transaction. Confirm the qualifying rent, accepted documentation, guarantor eligibility, and any housing-program restrictions before calling a prospect qualified.

Flag self-employment, a new job, variable earnings, rental assistance, or a remaining roommate early so the team can identify the appropriate records and review.

Step 5 · Apply

Use the current application for the exact unit and offer.

Have leasing send the application route and checklist. Give the prospect the approved rent, term, and dates with those instructions.

• Confirm which applicants, remaining tenants, and guarantors must submit.
• Prepare the identity, income, financial, and reference records management requests.
• Send sensitive documents through the authorized channel.
• Confirm receipt, missing items, the decision contact, and signing requirements.

Agree on the submission and signing sequence before telling a candidate the apartment is secured. Keep their screening decision separate from the consent and release documents still to be completed.

Step 6 · Find the replacement

Coordinate occupied showings with the leasing office.

Use the phone-booking procedure for occupied apartments and confirm how it applies to your search. Agree on showing times, household notice, attendance, key handling, and where interested renters should apply.

The FAQ permits brokers to use company photos with current listing information. Confirm the material authorized for your search and make sure it reflects your actual apartment, condition, rent, dates, and term. Clarify furniture, recurring charges, and any incentive you fund.

Do not treat a viewing request as permission for access. Have the appointment and key arrangements confirmed before sending a prospect or broker to an occupied apartment.

Step 7 · Money

Separate the screening fee from your exit costs.

The FAQ lists a $20 background-check fee. For covered applications, § 238-a caps background and credit checks at 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 an itemized exit quote covering final rent, any proposed transfer or surrender charge, concession treatment, move costs, and security. Ask what each charge covers, where it is authorized, and what changes if the incoming start date moves.

Get separate instructions for your deposit and the replacement’s security. Do not assume your deposit transfers or covers final rent. Document any incentive you offer and agree separately on a brokerage service before marketing starts.

Step 8 · Finish the transfer

Confirm your release before handing over possession.

Check the signed agreement for every departing tenant and guarantor, the effective date, required funds, and possession conditions. Ask what happens if the approved renter does not sign or complete payment.

Arrange the building move, mover insurance, inspection, and key or fob return. Photograph condition, align utilities and services with possession, provide a forwarding address, and keep the executed documents, final account, and security correspondence.

Track permission, showings, the complete application, approval, signatures, funds, and the move separately. If any step slips, get revised rent and release terms in writing before changing your move.

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.