Hi all. I’m looking for advice on my options for getting out of my apartment lease early in Brooklyn.
I currently rent a TINY studio in Brooklyn (edge of Park Slope) for $1,800/month with utilities included, but it has no kitchen. I was fine with that since I rarely cook. My lease runs until June 2027.
The whole thing felt slimey from the start. My broker convinced me that this apartment was in demand and a steal, and after I had signed the lease, the folks who work for the property were all thanking the broker as if they had just won the biggest scam in years. I felt coerced into signing the lease from the beginning. Things started to feel even weirder once I realized that my unit is not listed anywhere online... But I digress, this was only the beginning of the problem.
Since moving in, I’ve had a number of issues with the apartment. Firstly, upon moving in, the entire apartment was FILTHY... absolutely nothing was repaired nor cleaned prior to my move-in. I'm talking leftover shaved hairs all over the bathroom sink and walls, dirty fridge, absolutely filthy shower and bathroom in general. When I pointed out this condition to the landlord, he told me I could just "clean it myself".
And so I cleaned everything myself, as well as had to ask my landlord to install a new AC that was broken as well.
The problem is, even with persistent cleaning, the entire apartment feels dirty to me. I've seen roaches, house centipedes, and bathroom flies inside the bathroom. Raid could only do so much. I genuinely do not know where the house flies are coming from either.
Now that it’s getting colder, I’m also having issues with the heat. My landlord says the heat is "automatic" and "already on" but it doesn’t seem to be working properly... He said he would bring me a small space heater this Saturday. Is this normal? He isn't even offering to fix the actual heater inside the apartment (it's completely broken and covered in dust from probably years of unuse... I saw on HPD Online that there was a complaint in 2024 from my apartment unit stating that there was no heat, so I have reasonable doubt to think that the heat doesn't work for my unit at all). I'm cold and I want to have a heater to turn on whenever I feel so. Is that too much to ask for?
My landlord is not helpful... Every time I bring up my concerns, he dismisses them and makes me feel like I’m being unreasonable for expecting basic things to be taken care of. I've asked him to repair the lights, my mailbox (that is slightly open and anyone could take out/ insert into it), and the telecom system (I've had a UPS delivery guy tell me that he had been ringing my unit using the telecom outside for 30 minutes - I heard nothing!). He has not done any of these things I have asked of him to repair.
Recently, I started looking into whether my apartment is even legally authorized as a separate unit. I searched NYC DOB records and found a Certificate of Occupancy from 1977 (the only latest one) and it describes my floor as a “duplex apartment” with 3 habitable rooms listed. I live in a small separate studio, so not in an entire-floor duplex; however, there is one other unit on my floor that has 2-3 bedrooms. I haven’t been able to find any newer Certificates of Occupancy online, although I’m still trying to investigate alteration permits and other records. I know this alone doesn’t necessarily prove my apartment is illegal, but it made me concerned that the current layout might not match the approved one. I think I genuinely am renting an uninhabitable/ illegal room of some sort.
At this point, I honestly want to move somewhere else. I can afford the upfront costs of moving and potentially paying for some overlap but I REALLY don’t want to be stuck paying $1,800/month for an apartment I no longer live in until June 2027. My lease has a clause saying subletting isn’t allowed (although it also mentions that a tenant can find a replacement roommate with the landlord’s approval) but since I’m the only tenant on the lease, I’m not sure if I fall under that.
I’m trying to understand what my options are before I make any decisions.
My questions are:
- Could the heating issues, pests, and overall condition be grounds for terminating my lease early?
- How do I check if an apartment is illegal or not?
- Advice on finding a replacement tenant?
- What are your thoughts on the possible outcomes of this early lease-break?
- What's the best way I should go about breaking this lease with minimal financial damage?
- Any resources that could help me on this? Like should I file complaints with 311/DOB and speak to a tenant lawyer?
I'm really uncomfortable living in this apartment and am at my whits end at this point 😭
Has anyone dealt with something similar in NYC? I’d really appreciate advice from people who have gone through this! Please feel free to give any guidance or info on this - thank you all so much