A lease is a binding legal contract, and your landlord has no obligation to let you break it. Even if you may think it’s in your landlord’s best interest to let you out of the lease, that likely won’t happen. However, breaking a lease in NYC is still possible, even if your landlord doesn't want to let you out of it.
Table of Contents
How to Break a Lease in NYC
Breaking a Lease in NYC Tips
How To Do a Lease Assignment in NYC
Breaking Your Lease vs Subleasing the Remainder of Your Lease
How To Find Someone To Take Over Your Apartment Lease?
Breaking a Lease in NYC Bottom Line
How to Break a Lease in NYC
- Review Your Lease
- Speak With Your Landlord
- Get Everything in Writing
- Perform Your Agreed Obligations
- Sign the Paperwork to Formally Break Your Lease
1. Review Your Lease
The first step to break your NYC apartment lease is to review the terms of your lease. Check to see if it includes an opt-out clause or details specific to subletting or breaking your lease. If it does, you'll also want to check the requirements, which might include a fee. This fee can range from anywhere between a thousand bucks to 3+ months rent but is typically set at either 1 or 2 months rent. You’ll also likely need to give your landlord at least 30 days’ notice of your intention to break the lease.
2. Speak With Your Landlord
After reviewing your lease, you’ll need to speak with your landlord. Explain your situation and see what your options are. Landlords understand that it’s in their best interest to have a tenant who is happy, stable, and financially secure in place, and will likely have a specific policy in place for how you can get out of your lease.
If your lease doesn't have an opt-out clause, they will often ask you to either find a new tenant for an apartment lease takeover via a lease assignment or to find someone to sign a brand new lease with them before they let you break your contract and surrender the apartment.
3. Get Everything in Writing
The next step in breaking a lease in NYC is to put everything in writing. Whatever you and your landlord agree to, be sure to document it in writing. Depending on what your lease says, you may even need to draft a formal document that you and your landlord both sign. This will be your proof in the event that there are future misunderstandings.
4. Perform Your Agreed Obligations
After everything is put down in writing, it's time to fulfill your obligations to break the lease. If your lease has an opt-out clause, you will just need to pay the applicable fee to break the contract. If you need to find a replacement tenant to sign a new lease in your place, you’ll need to market your apartment and find a suitable candidate to present to your landlord. They’ll sign a new 12-month lease at the market rate, and then your contract with the landlord will be broken. It used to be that most landlords wouldn’t charge you a fee in this scenario, but nowadays, fees ranging from $250 to $1000+ are commonplace.
5. Sign the Paperwork to Formally Break Your Lease
The final step in breaking your lease is to sign the paperwork. Typically, your landlord will have a standard lease cancellation agreement, which will reference the original lease and confirm the date of the lease break. This agreement should also detail how the security deposit and move-out are handled, as well as any remaining obligations you and the landlord have to each other.
Breaking a Lease in NYC Tips
- Follow Your Landlord's Procedures
- Be Clear With Your Intentions
1. Follow Your Landlord's Procedures
The most important thing to do when breaking a lease in NYC is to follow all landlord procedures. Many times tenants will ask their landlord if they can break or assign their lease but do not follow the proper procedures, delaying the process significantly.
2. Be Clear With Your Intentions
You should also be clear with your intentions when breaking a lease. If they tell allow you to break your lease, be sure you clearly tell your landlord that you will be actively working on getting out of your lease and ask for their permission in writing. The last thing you want is to find someone who wants to move in only to be told that their application can’t be processed until you send a certified letter to your landlord’s corporate headquarters formally asking for permission to assign/break your lease.
How To Do a Lease Assignment in NYC
- Understand How Lease Assignments Work
- Speak With Your Landlord
- Market Your Lease Assignment
- Be Prepared to Explain Any Drawbacks
1. Understand How Lease Assignments Work
If you cannot break your NYC lease a great alternative is to assign your existing contract to a new tenant. But before you can do a lease assignment it's imortant to understand how the process works. A lease assignment is similar to finding a new tenant to sign a new lease, except for the fact that they’ll just be taking over your existing contractual obligations.
2. Speak With Your Landlord
The next step for a lease assignemnt is to speak with your landlord and ask about their requirements. Some landlords may force your hand and accept either only an assignment or only a break with a tenant signing a new 12-month contract, so make sure you speak with your landlord to find out what your options are before you start marketing your place.
3. Market Your Lease Assignment
After you understand the procedure for a lease assignment, it's time to market your apartment. Depending on what your landlord wants you can target different types of prospective tenants. For example, one advantages of a lease assignment are that the incoming tenant will generally be grandfathered into your current rental price, which will typically be lower than current market rates. There will also be no broker fee for the assignment, so this will appeal to many tenants looking for a deal.
A Lease assignment can also work well for anyone who is looking for a shorter term, as prices will be significantly lower than other short-term rentals. One thing to note is that many landlords do charge a lease assignment fee that typically ranges from $250-$750+.
4. Be Prepared to Explain Any Drawbacks
Lease assignments can also have some drawbacks which you should be prepared to explain to the new tenant. The main disadvantage of a lease assignment is that the unit is usually rented “as-is,” meaning the landlord won’t come in and clean, prep, and paint before the new tenant moves in. This, combined with the fact that the term will likely be for a shorter period of time than a traditional 12-month lease, might make it less attractive to prospective renters.
5. Sign the Lease Assignemnt and Transfer the Lease
Once you've found a tenant that wants to take over your lease that your landlord approves, it's time to make it formal. Your landlord will prepare a lease assignment rider, which you, the new tenant, and the landlord will all need to sign. It will detail the date which on which the lease is assigned and when the new tenant can formally take possession of the apartment.
Breaking Your Lease vs Subleasing the Remainder of Your Lease
Some owners may not allow a lease break or assignment as they have the legal right to refuse one. But, you have the right to ask for a sublet in NYC. The landlord can charge a 10% sublet fee. However, this is rare. An owner would typically prefer a lease break or lease assignment as it's better for everyone.
Sublets involve an added element of risk for all parties. For you, the "sublessor," you'll still be responsible to the landlord for the apartment and rent. So, if the new tenant, the "sublessee," skips rent, damages the apartment, or stays too long, you may be on the hook.
For the sublessee, there’s typically an element of uncertainty as there is no long-term guarantee that the landlord will offer them a new lease.
The landlord also faces extra risk. They may not get to screen a sublessee as well as they’d like. Sublets do not have to submit a standard NYC apartment application with the landlord. This means that sublessees do not have to meet the landlord’s income requirements.
How To Find Someone To Take Over Your Apartment Lease?
Whether you decide to go for a lease break, assignment, or sublet, it can be challenging to find someone to take over your lease in NYC. You'll need to move quickly and market your apartment in as many places as possible.
Many websites let you list your place if you're breaking you lease in NYC. They include LeaseBreak, Craigslist, Renthop, and Facebook groups like Ghostlight Housing. You can also post your apartment on StreetEasy, but the fee to do so is relatively high. That being said, Streeteasy is the largest real estate website in NYC.
Breaking a Lease in NYC Bottom Line
We always recommend trying to assign or break your lease whenever possible, even if it means paying a fee. Subletting your apartment might seem like a tempting way to save some money, but it presents additional risk.
Do your best to negotiate a deal to break your lease with your landlord or find someone who wants to take over your existing NYC apartment lease or sign for a 12-month term with your landlord. This will ensure you are no longer liable for the apartment once you move out.
If you decide to sublet, the safest thing you can do is ask for additional security deposits or pre-payment of rent for the entire sublease upfront. It is also essential to get the landlord’s approval. Ideally, your landlord will put in writing that you will not be held accountable for any damages or monetary liabilities that occur upon the termination of your contract with the landlord (for example, if the sublessee does not vacate the apartment and refuses to pay rent past the expiration of the lease).