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.

Will my apartment be posted publicly on StreetEasy or Reddit?

No. Your listing is shared privately with renters in our network whose saved searches match your apartment — it never appears on public rental sites or social media. You decide who sees it and who you reply to.

How fast can I find a replacement tenant?

Most matched takeovers receive their first interested renter within 48 hours. Median time-to-hand-off is under 2 weeks for apartments listed 2–8 weeks ahead of move-out. The earlier you list, the more matches you'll see.

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 have already saved searches matching your apartment, so they reach out only when it’s a fit. They share their move-in window and budget upfront. You decide who to meet or video-call.

What information do I need to list?

Address, rent, bedrooms, lease end date, and a few photos. The whole listing form takes about 4 minutes. 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 6,000+ active NYC saved searches. List in 4 minutes, hear from interested renters in 48 hours, 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.
Your apartment isn’t posted publicly on StreetEasy or Reddit.
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 under 5 minutes and have a matched renter in under 2 weeks.

01
Tell us about your apartment
Address, rent, lease end date, and a few photos. Takes about 4 minutes.
02
We match you with interested renters
We surface your apartment to renters in our network whose saved searches already match. Listed privately, not posted publicly.
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 →

Ready to hand it off?

Listing takes about 4 minutes. We’ll match you with renters within 48 hours.

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