How to Sublet Your NYC Apartment Legally

Need to be away for a semester, a work assignment, or a few months, but don't want to give up your lease? Subletting can work — if you do it the way New York law requires. Skip the process and you risk your landlord treating it as a lease violation. This is educational information, not legal advice.

Step 1: Check whether RPL § 226-b applies to you

New York Real Property Law § 226-b covers buildings with four or more residential units where the lease began on or after June 25, 1983. In these buildings, your landlord's consent is required to sublet — but they can't unreasonably withhold it. Smaller buildings, most co-ops, and rent-stabilized units follow slightly different rules (rent-stabilized subletting is governed by the Rent Stabilization Code, 9 NYCRR § 2525.6, which overlaps heavily with § 226-b's process).

Step 2: Send a proper written request

The law requires you to send your request by certified mail, at least 30 days before the sublease would start, including specific information: the subtenant's name, the sublease term, your own address during the sublet, the reason, the number of occupants, and a copy of the proposed sublease. Our sublet consent request letter covers exactly this.

Step 3: Know your landlord's timeline and options

Once they receive your request, your landlord has 30 days to respond in writing with consent or a reasonable refusal. If they don't respond at all, consent is deemed given by law — silence works in your favor. If they refuse unreasonably, you can ask to be released from your lease entirely, which starts another 30-day clock for them to agree.

What makes a refusal "reasonable"?

Landlords can generally point to legitimate concerns — the proposed subtenant's ability to pay, overcrowding beyond legal occupancy limits, or a documented history of problems with that subtenant. What they generally can't do is refuse simply because they'd prefer you not sublet at all, or apply standards they don't apply to other tenants.

Sign your own sublease agreement with your subtenant

Getting the landlord's consent is step one — the sublease itself is a separate agreement between you and your subtenant covering rent, the term, and each side's responsibilities. Use our sublease agreement template once consent is secured (or deemed given).

Protect yourself either way

• You generally remain responsible to your landlord for the rent and any damage during the sublease — collect rent and a deposit from your subtenant that reflects that risk.
• Keep proof you sent the request and any response (or non-response).
• Don't let a subtenant move in before you actually have consent, deemed or otherwise — an unauthorized sublet can be treated as a lease violation.

If you're subletting from someone instead

If you're the one renting from a sub-landlord rather than the primary tenant on the lease, your situation and protections are different — see our guide on subletting from a sub-landlord in NYC.

Official sources

• NY Real Property Law § 226-b, text via NY Senate
• NYS Homes and Community Renewal — rent-stabilized subletting rules