Landlords of residential dwellings of four or more units, other than public housing or cooperative apartment buildings, cannot unreasonably withhold their consent to assignment or subleasing of the apartment by the tenant.

However, the tenant must obtain the written consent of the landlord before subleasing or assigning.

An “assignment” of the lease transfers the entire unexpired balance of the lease term to another person. The “subleasing” of the apartment involves renting out for part of the lease term. A tenant would sublet his apartment lease rather than assign it if he planned on returning to it before the expiration of the lease term.

The tenant must complete certain procedures before subletting or assigning. He must inform the landlord of his intent to sublease or assign by mailing a request to the landlord by certified mail, return receipt requested. The request must contain:

The term of the sublease,
The name of the proposed sublessee,
The business and permanent home address of the proposed sublessee,
The tenant’s reason for subletting,
The tenant’s address for the term of the sublease,
The written consent of any co-tenant or guarantor of the lease, and
A copy of the proposed sublease, to which a copy of the tenant’s lease shall be attached if available, acknowledged by the tenant and proposed subtenant as being a true copy of such sublease.

Within ten days after the mailing of the request, the landlord may ask the tenant for further information in order to determine whether or not rejection of the tenant’s request will be unreasonable.

Within thirty days after the tenant mails the request, or within thirty days after the landlord requests additional information (whichever is later), the landlord must notify the tenant of his consent or his reasons for not consenting. If the landlord neglects to send such a notice, he is considered to have consented to the proposed subletting or assignment.

If the landlord consents, the apartment will be sublet or assigned in accordance withtherequest, but the original tenant still remains liable for his obligations under the lease,
such as for payment of the rent.

If the landlord unreasonably withholds his consent, the tenant may either:

Request that the landlord release him from the lease or
Sublet in accordance with the request and recover the cost of theproceedings and attorney’s fees if it is determined that the landlord acted in bad faith by withholding his consent.

If the landlord reasonably withholds his consent, there shall be no subletting and the tenant shall not be released from the lease. Any provision of a lease or rental agreement whereby the tenant waives his right to assign or sublet is null and void.