Signing over lease in NYC

My lease is coming up for renewal in a couple of weeks. Instead of renewing the lease myself, I would like to transfer the lease to my room mate.

How is this done? What are the legalities involved? I’m aware that the landlord might take advantage of the opportunity to raise the rent… what other risks are there?

In most places, a lease is a contract between landlord and tenant. Are you saying that in NYC, it is something “owned” by the tenant, and therefore assignable by him to a third party?

Actually, most contracts are assignable to a third party, unless the contract calls for some personal performance that can’t be substituted (like performing arts, or craftwork). However, this is a real estate lease, which involves a separate body of law. Since the third party is your roommate, he may already have some rights that will make this easier. For any other third party, I’d say that there’s no way for you to assure that your landlord offers your roommate a lease. Hell, unless it’s a part of the present lease, he doesn’t have to renew it.

The landlord has the right to raise the price once the lease runs out, unless the lease itself (or local laws) prohibits it.

Unfortunately, in New York City there is no simple answer to this question. The most important factor is whether the apartment is rent-regulated.

I’m a New York real estate lawyer, but I don’t know the answer to this question off the top of my head for any of rent-regulation regimes. If the apartment is uncontrolled, the landlord doesn’t have to renew it in the name of a landlord if the landlord does not want to.

You might just want to ask your landlord.

Good luck.

I’d start by talking to my landlord. Maybe he’ll say “sure, no problem”, maybe he won’t. It saves the landlord the trouble of finding a new tenant and having a vacant apartment. Your roommate may have to do the routine of getting letters of reference, proof of income, those sorts of things. Since the landlord is going to start a new lease with your roommate he’s perfectly within his rights to raise to rent. I don’t know why he wouldn’t.

This might answer some of your questions, or at least point you in the right direction:
http://www.housingnyc.com/resources/faq/roommates.html

One option is you keeping the lease and subletting to your roommate (there’s only a certain increase you can sublet for legally, but at least it might cover the headache), but again you have to talk with your landlord.

The only way you’ll be running a risk is if you try to do something on the sly.