subtenancy

Otherwise, it's a subtenancy and can be regulated or even prohibited.

The result would depend on the circumstances, particularly upon the length of the subtenancy and whether the landlord knew or should have known about it.

The prospects for disposal of the whole building are severely limited if a third of it is subject to a subtenancy.

This number more than met the 1,119 houses that were needed in 1951 to eradicate undesirable overcrowding and subtenancy.

Landlord might be at risk financially, the subtenancy proposed being at a premium and a low rent.

Certainly very careful enquiries will normally be made by a landlord before seriously entertaining an assignment or subtenancy.

Such potential benefits also act as an incentive for landlords to reject and litigate a subtenancy request they might have otherwise grudgingly accepted.

While rules regarding rent-regulated apartments give prime tenants the right to sublet, the landlord does have the right to approve any subtenancy.

If not, then the occupancy of an apartment by someone other than the original tenant-shareholder would amount to a subtenancy, whether or not a sublease fee is charged.

As for the prime lease, there are no laws that would protect your tenancy or require the landlord to give it to you even if your subtenancy were legal.

And when a sublet is permitted, it is in the best interest of both the shareholder and the co-op itself for the subtenancy to be approached with caution.

Mr. Abramson said that to terminate a tenancy or subtenancy, the tenant must be given notice of termination at least 30 days before the current term expires.

A - Lucas A. Ferrara, a Manhattan real estate lawyer, said that allowing someone else to use an apartment, even in an exchange arrangement, usually creates a subtenancy.

"They do that so that a nontenant is not able to claim either tenancy status or legal subtenancy status where otherwise they would have no rights whatsoever," he said.

He added that there might have been complaints against a subtenant from other neighbors or other reasons why a co-op would want to end a subtenancy at the annual anniversary of the co-op's approval.

So an argument could be made that the spouse is not a subtenant and therefore should not be subject to the fees of a subtenancy whether the shareholder is in occupancy or not."

"It seems to me, however, that the shareholder has satisfied himself that the subtenant has not done anything in default of the subtenancy agreement and that the carpeting is still in place," he said.

Mr. Schwartz noted, however, that the law requires the tenant to give notice of a sublease to the landlord and to provide the landlord with information about the subtenancy agreement if the landlord requests such information.

"What it boils down to is that in New York, nobody wants to give up an apartment," Mr. Kucker said, adding that creating a subtenancy carries with it some inherent risks for the original tenant.

Failure to notify the landlord of the sublease - or failure to respond to a landlord's reasonable request for information about the subtenancy - can constitute a substantial breach of the lease agreement and could subject the tenant to eviction.

In most cases, he said, the ground is a reasonable belief that the tenant - that is, the tenant on the lease, or the "prime" tenant - does not intend to return to the apartment at the end of the subtenancy.

If the landlord has not asked for additional information within the time period, and has not otherwise responded to the tenant's request within 31 days of its receipt, Mr. Belkin said, the landlord is deemed to have given consent for the subtenancy.

In that case he will not be able to increase the rent payable under the subtenancy or to oppose the grant of a new tenancy to the subtenant should he wish to do so (see "Business Tenancies-Traps for the Unwary" (1978) LSG 371).

"Some people use subletting as a way to hold onto their apartment for as long as they can even though they may have no intention of ever returning," Ms. Hirsch said, adding that one condition for legally subletting an apartment is an intention to return after the subtenancy.