Breaking an R.E.M. Residential Lease: Assignment or Sublet?

Step 1 · Permission

Ask the property team for assignment terms before looking for a replacement.

Contact your building representative or call 212-260-8060. R.E.M. also has a contact form. Include the address, apartment, leaseholders, lease end date, and preferred departure.

Say if one roommate is leaving or you intend to return. Use the notice method required by your lease and ask who will coordinate the incoming application.

Step 2 · Written terms

Get the owner’s offer and your exit terms clear before marketing.

• Rent and term: approved price, dates, concessions, and recurring charges.
• Application: qualification criteria, document list, and submission link.
• Review: who screens, who decides, and what remains before signing.
• Costs and release: charges, final rent, security, and guarantor treatment.

Confirm whether the replacement takes the remaining lease or signs a new one. Resolve missing terms before promising a price or start date.

Assignment or sublet?

Choose the route based on whether you will return.

Assignment and subletting follow different New York consent rules. An approved temporary sublet generally leaves you responsible for rent and lease compliance.

Step 3 · Qualification

Check the candidate against the apartment’s requirements.

Ask leasing for the income, credit, and guarantor criteria before screening candidates. Confirm whether household income can be combined and which records or lawful alternatives are accepted.

Check the move date, household, pets, guarantor needs, and document readiness. If the apartment has an admission program, confirm its process before offering a privately selected replacement.

Step 4 · Application

Prepare a complete file and allow for the owner’s review.

R.E.M.’s FAQ says its rental team screens and qualifies applicants before presenting them to the owner. Ask the leasing contact how the review will work for your replacement and who will confirm the final decision.

• Get the application link and checklist for the approved apartment.
• Check the rent, term, proposed start, and everyone applying or guaranteeing.
• Have the candidate send records directly to the designated reviewer.
• Ask for confirmation of completeness and the next approval or signing step.

The public rental listings are a starting point for ordinary vacancies. Have leasing confirm the link for your occupied assignment rather than applying to another available unit.

Step 5 · Find the replacement

Coordinate one approved listing and a practical showing schedule.

R.E.M. says it also works with an owner’s broker. Ask who is handling your listing before creating separate advertisements or sending candidates conflicting instructions.

• Offer: use the approved rent, charges, exact dates, and qualification criteria.
• Showings: agree on notice, hours, attendance, privacy, and keys.
• Condition: show the occupied apartment accurately and identify cleaning or repairs.
• Furniture and incentives: document the items, amount, payment date, and conditions.

Keep the start date conditional on approval, signed documents, required payments, and apartment readiness. Candidate interest is not permission to hand over keys.

Fees and security

Ask for an itemized assignment quote and final rent date.

Get the proposed charges and payment conditions in writing. Confirm what happens if the candidate withdraws, approval fails, or the incoming start changes.

• Assignment or termination: ask what the quoted amount covers.
• Final rent: agree on your last day and any mid-month proration.
• Security: confirm your accounting and what the replacement supplies.
• Moving and services: arrange building access, utilities, and any recurring account closure.
• Brokerage: agree on the marketing work and fee separately in writing.

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 the owner’s agreement before possession changes.

Coordinate screening, owner review, signatures, required payments, any work, and the agreed start. Ask management to confirm that all conditions have been met.

• Check the release date and documents for every departing tenant and guarantor.
• Photograph the condition and finish agreed clearing or repairs.
• Arrange moving access, keys, devices, and utilities.
• Provide a forwarding address and retain the final ledger and security accounting.

Keep the signed agreement and completion confirmation. A successful screening result is progress; the documents should also settle your departure and remaining obligations.

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.