I've lived in a rent stabilised apartment for almost two years. The lease holder hasn't lived in the apartment for three years or more, she lives abroad but comes back once a year to sign the lease.
The building recently changed management and they have been using aggressive tactics to drive people out(no gas for months, turning off the water with only hours notice etc, a fair housing lawyer has gotten involved). When the new management took over a few months ago almost half of the building got eviction notices, including the apartment I live in. It turned out my roommate at the time was 5 months behind on rent(5 months of my rent went straight in her pocket). She went to management on behalf of the lease holder but they refused her payment(borrowed money from many boyfriends), the case got taken to housing court, in the end my roommate had to wire funds to the lease holder for her to pay it all off. It was a whole battle in itself that I had no control or say in and the result of all this is that I have to send my money to the lease holder for her to pay the rent(my money going into an almost strangers pocket...).
I talked briefly with the lease holder as I looked into it a little bit and found no legal reason I couldn't pay the LL myself, she told me she never requested to sublet and that it goes against the terms of her lease. She's living abroad indefinitely and doesn't know if she'll move back to the US even. The apartment is filled to the brim with her personal belongings and street furniture that she hoards, things are falling apart but I have no leverage to get them fixed and she won't even let me repaint. She has pretty much said to me that she could come back with no notice and kick me out.
I talked to a few friends at the beginning of the potential eviction and they suggested to let the eviction happen, approach management myself and take over the lease. I didn't look into this at the time but now that it's been made clear to me that the lease holder is a bit of a dick I have no problem being the reason she loses the apartment. Of course if this means I don't get to live there anymore I don't want to go through with anything.
If I approach management to take over the lease on the grounds that she has breached the lease, do I have any rights as a tenant? Would the apartment lose its rent stabilised status? Could they evict her and evict me as a result? She is paying preferred rent right now, if I offered to pay the legal stab rent would this give me a better chance of taking over the lease? Should I just shut my mouth and deal with the piss covered sofa?