Our colleague, Debra S. Cohen (pictured left), can be found on the New York Times website this week, responding to a reader's question.
The text of that piece follows:
Removing an ‘Ex’ From the Lease
Q. There are two names on my rent-stabilized lease: mine and my ex-husband’s. But he no longer lives in the apartment, has not contributed to the rent for over a year, and all of his personal documents — tax returns, voter registration, driver’s license and car registration — have his new address on them. I also have an order of protection against him. How can I get his name removed from the lease?
A. “In order to have the ‘ex’s’ name removed from the agreement, the letter writer would need the permission of all parties concerned,” said Debra S. Cohen, a real estate and civil rights lawyer in
While New York law allows the holder of an order of protection to prematurely end a tenancy, that statute does not provide for the automatic removal of a cotenant from a lease, Ms. Cohen said. The reason, she said, is because each individual named on a lease is fully liable for the payment of all rent and other tenancy related obligations, regardless of whether an individual resides in the apartment. Since one of the lessees still lives in the apartment, Ms. Cohen said, there may be some resistance on the part of the landlord to change the names on the lease. In addition, she said, laws governing rent-stabilized tenants do not readily provide for the removal of a party’s name from the lease without a court order or a determination from the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal to that effect.