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Q & A: A Stabilized Subtenant Dreams of Staying On

By Jay Romano

Q: I am the legal sublessee of a rent-stabilized apartment. The tenant has been allowed to rent to me for a two-year period. It is likely that he will not renew the lease at the end of the two-year period, which coincides with the end of the sublease. I would prefer to stay in the apartment for the rent-controlled rate, or at least below the market rate.

A: Adam Leitman Bailey, a Manhattan real estate lawyer, said the sublessee has no right to continue to live in the apartment once the sublease expires.

“The only option available to the sublessee at that point is to try to negotiate a lease with the landlord,” he said. “But if that fails, the sublessee will have to be prepared to move.”

Adam-Leitman-Bailey_Stabilized-Subtenant_Articles.pdf

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