Found a room in Gowanus near the F/G, decent size, leaseholder seems chill. We talked over coffee, and the only thing that bugged me is when I asked about the lease she said 'it's a stabilized unit' and then kind of moved past it. I don't want to be paying the leaseholder's whole rent for one bedroom, but I also don't want to kill the deal by being a weirdo about money right away. Do people actually ask to see the lease or at least get the total rent in writing? I know stabilized rents are lower than market, but I don't know the actual number. How do you bring this up without sounding like you're accusing them of overcharging?

You should absolutely ask, and the evasiveness is a yellow flag. In a stabilized unit, the primary tenant is generally allowed to have a roommate, but they can't charge more than a proportionate share of the legal regulated rent, unless you're getting something like a furnished room with separate services. Even then, the math should be transparent. You don't necessarily have an automatic right to see the lease as a roommate-at-will, since you're not a party to it, but a normal leaseholder will show you the rent amount or at least confirm the total and how the split works.

Here's what I'd do before handing over any money:

• Ask for the total monthly rent in writing and a breakdown of utilities.
• Ask whether the landlord has given written consent for you to live there, since unauthorized roommates can be a problem later.
• Ask if the room is furnished or if common-area furniture is included.
• If she won't answer a basic rent question, treat that as a sign she's probably hiding something.

Also, if it's a true sublet and the primary tenant isn't living there, the rules are stricter: they generally can't charge more than the legal regulated rent, and they need landlord consent. But you said she'd be there, so roommate rules apply. I've seen people get burned by this exact setup, so no, it's not weird to ask.

Good looks, astoria_arch. I don't mind paying a little over the exact bedroom split if the leaseholder already furnished the living room and did the brokerage legwork, but I want the total up front. I'll text her this afternoon and ask for the rent amount + utility split. If she starts with 'I'd rather keep that private,' I'm out. Anyone else had a leaseholder get weird about this?

I had a friend go through this in Harlem. She took a room from a woman who was all 'family-like' about it, then three months later someone else in the building let slip the total rent. My friend was basically covering the whole apartment. When she asked for the lease, the leaseholder gave her 30 days. It wasn't worth fighting about because she was month-to-month and had no lease. So yeah, ask early. If they can't show you a simple number, that's your answer. I also ask for the landlord's consent in writing now. It sounds extra, but it saves you from coming home to a lockbox change.