How is a lease takeover different from breaking a lease?

Breaking a lease usually means paying 1–2 months of rent as a penalty, losing your deposit, or owing the landlord until the unit is re-rented. A lease takeover replaces you with a matched renter, so the apartment is never empty — that's the legal trigger that ends your obligation under most NYC leases.

How much does Leaseswap cost?

Free. We don't take percentage cuts, listing fees, or commissions. Our business is alerts for renters, not cuts on takeovers.

Where does my apartment get listed?

We don't post it to StreetEasy or social media. Your listing reaches renters two ways: it's matched against the saved searches of renters in our network whose criteria fit your apartment, and once we approve it, it shows on our public takeover map at leaseswap.nyc/map so anyone searching for takeovers can find it. You stay in control of who you reply to.

How fast can I find a replacement tenant?

It depends on the apartment, the rent, and how far ahead of your move-out you list. The earlier you list, the more matched renters see it before they've signed elsewhere — listing 2–8 weeks ahead of move-out gives you the widest pool.

What if my landlord won’t allow a lease assignment?

Under NY Real Property Law §226-b(1), the landlord can refuse an assignment for any reason — they don't have to be reasonable about it. The trade-off is that a refusal triggers your statutory right to be released from the lease on 30 days' written notice, without early-termination penalty. The "cannot unreasonably withhold consent" rule that people often quote applies to subletting (§226-b(2)), not assignment. We'll give you a template letter as a starting point — review it with a New York tenant attorney before sending.

Do I need to show the apartment myself?

No. Renters in our network already have saved searches matching your apartment, so they reach out only when it’s a fit, and they share their move-in window when they message you. You decide who to meet or video-call.

What information do I need to list?

The basics — address, rent, bedrooms, lease end date, and a few photos — plus a handful of quick questions about the apartment (laundry, pets, what you'll miss most) and how to reach you. Most people finish in under 10 minutes, and you can save and come back if you don't have everything yet.

NYC Lease Takeover — Hand off your apartment without overlap rent

Moving out of your NYC apartment before the lease ends? Leaseswap matches your apartment with renters from our network of active NYC saved searches. List in about 10 minutes and get matched with renters whose criteria already fit, then hand off your lease without paying overlap rent.

How a lease takeover works in NYC

Tell us about your apartment (address, rent, lease end date, photos).
We match your apartment with renters whose saved search fits.
Use our template letter as a starting point for your attorney.

Why list with Leaseswap

Free to list — we take 0%.
No overlap rent — hand off the day your new place starts.
We don’t post your apartment to StreetEasy or social media.
You choose which matched renters to reply to — no public showings.

List your NYC apartment · Read the full lease takeover guide

New York City skyline view from a subway window

NYC lease takeover · No fees

Hand off your
NYC lease.

Moving out before your lease ends? We match your apartment with renters from 6,000+ active NYC searches. Skip overlap rent and the showings.

List your apartment

Free · Listed privately · You choose who to reply to

How it works

Three steps. Zero showings.

Most NYC tenants finish the listing in about 10 minutes, and the sooner you list, the more matched renters see it before they’ve signed elsewhere.

01
Tell us about your apartment
Address, rent, lease end date, a few photos, and some quick details. Takes about 10 minutes.
02
We match you with interested renters
We match your apartment to renters whose saved searches already fit, and show approved listings on our public takeover map. We won't post it to StreetEasy or social media.
03
Send the request to your landlord
Once you pick a renter, we send you a template assignment letter to review and send to your landlord. Most approve within a week.

Why list with Leaseswap

The clean way to break a lease.

No overlap rent
Hand off your apartment the day your new place starts. Most NYC tenants save $3,200–$5,800 in overlap rent.
Free to list
We take 0%. No commissions, no listing fees, no surprises. Our business is alerts for renters, not cuts on takeovers.
No showing parade
Renters in our network already know what they're looking for. They reach out only when your apartment fits their saved search.
Cleaner closeout
A clean assignment ends your tenancy on the assignment date — no "re-rental" deductions tied to a vacant unit.

Answers

Lease takeover, explained.

A lease takeover is when a new tenant takes over the remaining months on your lease — usually with the landlord's consent through a lease assignment. If approved, the new tenant becomes responsible for rent, you're released from the lease, and you avoid paying overlap rent or a break fee. NY Real Property Law §226-b governs assignment and sublet requests in NYC, but the specifics depend on your lease and your landlord's response — we recommend reviewing the request with an attorney before sending.

Read the full lease takeover guide →Looking to take over a lease? Browse active takeovers →

Ready to hand it off?

Listing takes about 10 minutes, and we match you with renters whose saved searches already fit your apartment.

List your apartment

Free · Listed privately · You choose who to reply to

Hand off your NYC lease.

Three steps. Zero showings.

Tell us about your apartment

We match you with interested renters

Send the request to your landlord

The clean way to break a lease.

No overlap rent

Free to list

No showing parade

Cleaner closeout