lease renewal/sublet

[aleph]

Hello there,

I've been the sole tenant in a rent stabilized apartment for the past six years, and my present lease expires on Jan 31, 2004. I've recently decided to move out for employment-related reasons and to sublet the apartment through the duration of the present lease.

I sent my landlord a formal request for permission to sublet, with all the requisite paperwork, and just received a letter from them approving the sublet "subject to strict compliance" with five terms.

Four of the terms were obvious and fine, but the fifth reads:

"Failure to return to the premises at the end of your sublet constitutes a violation of lease. Legal action will be commenced, and you will be responsible for any legal costs pertaining to the breach of your lease and this sublet."

The only problem here is that the end of the sublet coincides with the end of my lease, so the only way I can return to the premises is if I renew the lease. My present intent is to do just that -- renew the lease when it expires and move back into the apartment. However, I cannot guarantee that future circumstances will not prevent me from doing so, and I'm not willing to sign something that in effect guarantees just that.

I have a call in to the landlord to discuss this, but have not yet heard back.

My hope is that this was a form letter and the clause above was a standard one that applies to most sublets, but not mine.

I'd love to get your opinions? Is there any way that I could be held, legally, to a mandatory lease renewal -- as the clause above would suggest?

Thanks in advance,
Aleph.