Breaking a Friedland Properties Lease: Assignment or Sublet?

Step 1 · Permission

Reach the person who can approve your apartment’s transfer.

Start with your current property manager. If you need routing, contact The Larstrand leasing at 646-568-4989, The Melar leasing at 646-741-2731, or Friedland’s office at 212-744-3300. Ask who handles residential transfers and owner consent for your address.

Explain whether everyone is leaving, one roommate is changing, or you plan to return. Confirm the formal notice method and recipient required by your lease, and keep a copy of the request.

Step 2 · Written terms

Set the replacement offer before arranging showings.

• Rent and dates: the approved rent, start date, and remaining or new lease term.
• Application: the current checklist, screening requirements, submission link, and guarantor options.
• Costs: an itemized quote, who pays each charge, and separate security instructions.
• Release: the required agreement, signatures, payments, and effective date.

For a roommate change, ask which tenants and guarantors remain responsible. Have the departing person’s release addressed in the amendment rather than assuming a new name removes an old one.

Step 3 · Choose the route

Choose paperwork that matches your reason for leaving.

New York Real Property Law § 226-b generally requires written owner consent for assignment. It gives covered apartments in buildings with four or more residential units a separate sublet process. Regulated and special-program apartments can have additional requirements; an informal inquiry is not a completed consent request.

Step 4 · Applicant requirements

Check the building’s requirements with the prospect.

Get the income calculation, accepted financial records, credit review, and guarantor arrangements directly from the building team. Have the prospect check those requirements before promising a start date or buying a guarantor policy.

If the applicant is self-employed, studying, relocating, or paid through variable compensation, ask which records the reviewer needs. Follow the actual checklist instead of assembling unrelated paperwork.

Ask separately about eligibility restrictions if the apartment is in an affordable or other housing program. A market-rate listing from another unit does not establish eligibility for yours.

Step 5 · Apply

Use a separate application for the incoming renter.

Friedland’s public tenant portal links to rent payments and work orders. Ask leasing for the application package for your unit and have the renter use their own access.

• Give each proposed tenant the approved rent, dates, and checklist.
• Prepare the requested ID, income evidence, and supporting financial records.
• Have any guarantor submit the required forms through the designated channel.
• Confirm receipt, missing items, the decision contact, and the next signing step.

Keep a submission confirmation. If the offer changes during review, have leasing confirm the revised terms with both sides before signatures.

Step 6 · Find the replacement

Give renters an accurate offer for your unit.

Once marketing is authorized, use current photos, the approved rent, available date, lease length, and actual layout. State whether furniture is included and whether a prospect is taking the whole apartment or joining remaining roommates.

Confirm which amenities, memberships, or services are included and which need a separate agreement. Arrange showing access with your household and the building; do not promise a vacant apartment before the move has been agreed.

Keep the listing and application consistent. Different dates, an unapproved discount, or a claim that approval is guaranteed can send a qualified prospect back through negotiations.

Step 7 · Money

Get the final rent, charges, and security instructions.

Request an itemized exit quote covering rent through the agreed date, any proposed transfer or surrender charge, move costs, and service cancellations. Ask what each charge covers and where it is authorized before accepting it.

For covered rental applications, § 238-a caps background and credit checks at actual cost or $20, whichever is less. A report copy and receipt or invoice are required, with a fee waiver for a qualifying report from the past 30 days.

Confirm how your deposit will be accounted for and what security the incoming renter must supply. Do not substitute your deposit for final rent or privately transfer it without management’s written instructions.

If you offer the renter an incentive, document the amount, payment date, and conditions separately. It should match the listing and leave the lease rent clear.

Step 8 · Finish the transfer

Finish the release and building move arrangements together.

Review the final documents for the apartment, departing tenants and guarantors, effective date, payments, and possession conditions. Confirm the necessary signatures and funds are complete before handing over keys.

Arrange the move reservation, mover insurance, elevator access, inspection, and key or fob return. Photograph the apartment, record the handoff, and keep the final ledger and security correspondence. Set utility and service cutoff dates to match the agreed possession date.

Plan around permission, a complete application, approval, signatures, funds, and building access. If the start date slips, confirm the revised rent and release date 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.