Questions About Subletting
Hello. I’ve been renting a rent-stabilized apartment in Brooklyn for about 14 years, but am now in China for the next year. I didn’t want to lose my apartment, so I arranged an informal sublet with the brother of a friend. I didn’t bother to tell my landlord because my apartment is well below market-rate…
Hello. I’ve been renting a rent-stabilized apartment in Brooklyn for about 14 years, but am now in China for the next year. I didn’t want to lose my apartment, so I arranged an informal sublet with the brother of a friend. I didn’t bother to tell my landlord because my apartment is well below market-rate and I was concerned that they’d probably look for a way to get me out if they knew. Nor did I check my lease for any sub-clause concerning this, as I felt it would be beside the point (for the above reason). The super is already coming around asking questions. No sublease was signed; what recourse do I have? Among other things, if I do make an official request to my landlord (clearly after the fact), could I say that I at first thought my trip would be temporary and that they were initially apartment-sitting, but that now work will require me to be away for a longer time and that my apartment-sitters will now be subletting from me instead? Or are there any other loopholes I can use here? Thanks…
Furthermore, LL has no knowledge of your current whereabouts I presume. Don’t offer any story as to house sitting or trips or whatnot. It has absolutely no bearing on obtaining the sublet.
The good news is that you are not in violation of your lease if you are currently writing the rent checks and the LL is cashing them. Fill out the information required in a legal sublet, and have your subtenant mail it certified from a New York Post Office. Continue supplying any info the LL requests in this manner. No legal requirement that says you have to appear in person.
Oh what a tangled web we weave.
Tisk tisk… I hope some stimulus change can be put towards investigating these leeches.
i guess that the subject that you teach in china is neither commonsense or ethics
You’ve already broken your lease by subletting in the fashion that you have.
Won’t be helping you with loopholes, as all you needed to do was comply with actual law, and ask questions before rather than after the fact. The requirements for a legal sublet are very specific. This is a description of the terms for rent stabilized apartments, it is not a citation of law: http://www.housingnyc.com/html/resources/faq/subletting.html
“rest stabilized apartments are governed by laws and I believe that a landlord must allow you to sublet for one year before they can kick you out — if you have a standard lease. I’m sure you can find this on line to confirm.”
Yes anniej, but the same lease will state that you need the landlord’s permission, which shall not be reasonably withheld. In advance.
lol, panamac…
Yup, another reason why rent stabilization should end up on the dustbin of history.
If you didn’t want to lose your apt, all you had to do was pay the damn rent!
what are you teaching in china? hopefully not ethics.
i’m not 100% on this, but i have heard of ppl getting into trouble when they charge the tenant more than they pay in a rent controlled/stabilized situation.
The landlord cannot refuse you to sublet “unreasonably.” that said you may have royally screwed yourself by foolishly going ahead without notifying your landlord. I am as pro-tenant as you can get (being one myself) but this kind of sheer stupidity pisses me off. And now you want advice on how to be even more dishonest.