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Subtenant Protection Question

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Subtenant Protection Question

Postby hexagonsun » Thu Jan 23, 2014 5:13 pm

So I'm about to be a subtenant in a 2-bedroom that's been sectioned off as part of a large house in Brooklyn (separate entrance and all). The home's owners live there in the rest of the house and communicate with the existing tenant of this 2-bedroom. I've been told they don't want to deal with roommate matters, etc, and that's it's up to Existing Tenant to screen roommates, sign a sublease, give them the rent that I pay to her, pass on any complaints, etc. I will not be signing a lease with the property's owners, rather a sublease Existing Tenant herself.

However what's to keep the home owners from changing the locks tomorrow and declare I don't rightfully live there? Existing Tenant from whom I'm subletting has asked for first, last, and security. How do I know I won't get screwed out of those funds? Is a sublease with Existing Tenant enough? Or should i ask for a copy of the master lease? Do I need the Home Owner to sign something too?
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Postby TenantNet » Thu Jan 23, 2014 8:29 pm

Assuming the house has less than six separate units, this is not rent regulated. You indicate the place is separate and has a separate entrance, but is it really wholly contained to itself, or just partitioned off from the rest of the house?

And yes, subtenants would normally deal with the primary tenant. That's what subletting is. Look in the Reference Section of the Forum for information on subletting and how it's done. You should have a subletting agreement with the primary tenant, and the LL is supposed to give consent to the sublet.

You don't know if there will be problems. No tenant does. That's why you need to learn your rights. Nothing wrong with having jitters, but you should read up on how subletting is done. There are 50,000 posts on this forum, a few of which cover sublets. Have at them.
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