Breaking a StuyTown Lease: Beam Living, Assignment & Sublet

Step 1 · Permission

Tell Resident Services which household change you need.

Call 212-420-5000 or email residentservices@beamliving.com. Give your StuyTown or Peter Cooper Village address and unit and ask for the person handling lease changes.

Identify all tenants and guarantors staying or leaving. Gather your lease, renewal, riders, and any program documents. Confirm the formal notice method separately; a service request is not a completed consent procedure.

Step 2 · Written terms

Get the offer and your obligations clear before finding someone.

• Structure and dates: assignment, replacement lease, temporary sublet, or household amendment.
• Rent: permitted rent, recurring charges, and treatment of any preferential rider or concession.
• Application: current checklist, eligibility review, and authorized submission channel.
• Your obligations: itemized costs, security handling, release terms, or continuing sublet responsibility.

For a permanent departure, ask what signed agreement ends your rent responsibility. For a roommate change, ask which departing tenants and guarantors will be released.

Step 3 · Choose the route

Keep a temporary absence separate from a permanent exit.

If the apartment is rent stabilized, review HCR Fact Sheet #7 for primary-residence, planned-return, duration, and lawful-rent requirements. An affordable-housing change may also need program review.

New York Real Property Law § 226-b generally requires written owner consent for assignment and sets a separate sublet procedure for covered apartments in buildings with four or more residential units. Follow the applicable procedure before relying on consent or a disputed refusal.

Step 4 · Applicant requirements

Use the criteria for your actual transaction.

The ordinary-leasing FAQ lists 36× monthly rent in annual applicant income and 48× for personal guarantors. Ask how those guidelines apply to a replacement, subtenant, or remaining household.

Confirm the qualifying rent, how combined or variable income is reviewed, and any accepted third-party guaranty. Resolve program eligibility before promising a candidate the apartment or asking them to purchase coverage.

If only one leaseholder is leaving, ask whether remaining tenants must requalify and which lease document will record the change.

Step 5 · Apply

Prepare the package for the approved route.

• Permanent replacement: obtain the current application and the agreement addressing your existing lease.
• Temporary sublet: prepare the term, proposed subtenant’s details, reason, temporary address, required co-tenant or guarantor consent, and proposed sublease with lease copy when available.
• Household amendment: identify leaseholders and occupants separately and get the required application instructions.
• Program review: ask the compliance team which eligibility records and approvals are needed.

For a qualifying statutory sublet request, use certified mail with return receipt requested. HCR’s guidance calls for a request at least 30 days before the proposed start. Keep the complete package, delivery record, follow-up requests, and response together.

Submit sensitive financial documents through management’s designated channel. Confirm receipt, missing items, and the next signing step.

Step 6 · Find the replacement

Advertise the actual unit and permitted terms.

After permission, use current photos, the full address, approved rent, start date, and lease length. State whether the offer covers the whole apartment or one room, and clarify furniture and occupied showing access.

Confirm required charges and any renewal offer before publishing. Put any incentive you fund in writing and check that it fits the approved structure.

Do not use a longer stay as a substitute for approval. Confirm the required consent before promising possession. The community’s access-card rules also require authorized access arrangements rather than sharing your card.

Step 7 · Money

Separate the exit quote from ongoing sublet responsibility.

Request a written breakdown of final rent, any proposed assignment or surrender charge, concession treatment, moving expenses, security, and recurring services. Ask what each charge covers, where it is authorized, and how the quote changes if the start date moves.

For covered applications, § 238-a limits background and credit checks to actual cost or $20, whichever is less. It requires a report copy and receipt or invoice, with a waiver for a qualifying report from the past 30 days.

For a sublet, document rent collection, damage responsibility, and what happens if the subtenant defaults. For a permanent exit, get separate instructions for your security and the incoming deposit. Do not assume your deposit pays final rent.

Step 8 · Finish the change

Complete the documents and authorized move arrangements.

Check the signed consent, amendment, or release for names, dates, payment conditions, guarantors, and any continuing obligations. Confirm what must happen before possession changes.

The community rules require prior written approval for furniture moves using the designated elevator. Confirm the reservation, mover insurance requirements, and key or card return and reissue. Photograph condition, align utilities and services, and keep the final account statement.

Track permission, the complete application or sublet request, review, signatures, funds, and the move separately. If a step slips, confirm revised dates and rent responsibility in writing.

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.