No under the terms of the NYC Landlord's & Tenants Code the sub-leasee is required to meet certain requirements to rent our their apartments and no provision for "liquidated damages" is provide for non-performance by a leasee.

Contact the:
New York City Rent Guidelines Board
51 Chambers St., Suite 202, New York, NY 10007
Phone: 212-385-2934

Text of the applicable code is included for your information.

SUBLETTING

Rent stabilized tenants have the right to sublet under New York
State Law, provided they follow certain procedures. Any lease
clause that prohibits a rent stabilized tenant from subletting is
automatically invalid and may be disregarded.

Rent controlled tenants are prohibited from subletting their
apartments unless the landlord agrees to the sublet in writing,
or unless the right to sublet was specifically included as part
of the original lease.

In order to sublet your apartment, you must notify your landlord
in writing, and send your notice by certified mail, return
receipt requested. In your notice you must include the following
information:

-- the name of the subtenant;

-- the date the sublease takes effect and the date it
terminates;

-- the business address and the permanent home address of the
subtenant;

-- your reason for wanting to sublet;

-- your address for the duration of the sublease;

-- if the prime lease was guaranteed by a third party, the
written consent of the guarantor;

-- if the apartment is occupied by a co-tenant, the written
consent of the co-tenant;

-- a copy of the sublease, attached to a copy of the prime
lease, with a notarized statement signed by you and the
subtenant attesting that it is a true copy of the sublease.

In stating your reason for wanting to sublet, you must make it
clear that your absence will be temporary and that you intend to
return to the apartment as your primary residence, or the
landlord will have a valid ground to refuse your sublet request.

Once you have mailed this notice, the landlord has 10 days from
the date you mailed the notice in which to ask for additional
information. You may be asked to complete a questionnaire about
yourself and the subtenant. While such a questionnaire is
permissible. it may not be unduly burdensome by asking irrelevant
questions.

If no further information is asked of you, the landlord must
respond to your notice within 30 days of the date it was mailed.
If additional information is requested within the initial 10-day
period, the landlord must respond within 30 days of the date the
additional information is mailed.

A landlord who does not respond within this timetable is
considered to have consented automatically to the sublet.

A landlord may not withhold consent unreasonably. Reasonable
cause for denying a sublet request includes the inability of the
subtenant to pay the rent; a subtenant with a history of
disruptive behavior; or an intention to use an apartment in an
unlawful manner.

If a landlord does withhold consent unreasonably, you may proceed
to sublet without his or her consent, or you may contest the
decision in court. The law requires the landlord to reimburse you
for legal costs, including attorney fees, if you can demonstrate
that your landlord acted in bad faith.

If you sublease an apartment with furnishings, a surcharge of up
to 10 percent above the legal rent may be added. You may not
collect more than the legal rent. A prime tenant who overcharges
a subtenant is subject to a rent overcharge complaint requiring
that a penalty equal to three times the amount of the overcharge
be refunded.

No apartment may be sublet for longer than two years out of any
four-year period. Furthermore, a tenant who does not intend to
return to the apartment is prohibited from assigning the lease to
a new tenant unless the landlord's written consent is obtained,
or unless the lease specifically permits assignment.
Source(s):
http://www.housingnyc.com/

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