If you leave your apartment or other rental home before your lease ends, your landlord must make a good-faith effort to fill the vacancy. We only sign leases when the property is ready to be moved into!• If you leave your apartment or other rental home before your lease ends, your landlord has to make a good-faith effort to fill the vacancy. You're responsible for the remaining months, BUT almost every jurisdiction requires the landlord to make an effort and mitigate their damages. Most will still want a credit application to check and also make sure not criminal background, prior evictions and property damage etc. You and the owner would need to complete an updated Request for Tenancy. Approval (RFTA) form and lease and submit that to HPD. This agreement, the lease, can either be oral or memorialized in writing. Under the rent stabilization rules, your landlord must mail you a lease renewal 90 to 150 days prior to the expiration of your current lease. 1) Put it in writingand find out your options.