Sublease Agreement Template

Our free one page sublease agreement template is a basic sublease contract which identifies the property, parties, payments and terms and conditions in a concise manner.

But most importantly, it references the original lease agreement between the landlord and primary tenant as well as other addendums applicable to the property.

The sublease agreement and any other forms attached thereto, as well as the original lease and addendums, shall then be interpreted as being the whole agreement between the primary tenant and subtenant.

Sublease Agreement Information on This Page:

Free Sublease Agreement Template - Subletting premises in their entirety or subletting a portion of the premises

Sublease vs Sublet - What is the difference?

Sublease vs Assignment of a Lease - What is the difference?

How to Sublet a Property

• Review the original lease agreement
• Submit a written request to sublet to the landlord as per our sample letter
• Negotiate the rental and security deposit amounts
• Enter into a sublease agreement using one of our free templates to draft your document

Roommate Sublease Agreement - Tailored for shared accommodation, incorporating a cleaning schedule and house rules.

Free Sublet Lease Agreement Template

The one page sublease agreement template below makes provision for the following two options:

Property sublease agreement - where the subtenant will be renting the entire premises as per the original lease agreement with the landlord.

Room sublease agreement - where the subtenant will be renting a portion of the premises e.g. a room and other shared access areas where applicable.

Delete whichever is not applicable to the premises you are subleasing.

Notes to the Sublease Agreement Template:

The Primary Tenant is acting as a landlord in a sublease agreement and should (read must) follow the same procedure that he himself went through when first renting from the Landlord.

• Do proper screening of the subtenant if it is someone you do not already know and can vouch for. Do a credit check, ask for references and check them out thoroughly.
• In Paragraph 10 in our free sublease agreement template you need to reference the same documents and forms that the original lease contains. An important one is the Rental Property Checklist and the Inventory.
  
  Make a copy of the originals and do a proper inspection check with your subtenant prior to occupation. It may help avoid costly disputes at a later date!

What Does Sublet Mean and What Does Sublease Mean?

There is no difference between sublet and sublease. These two terms are used interchangeably but essentially have the same effect:

The Primary Tenant has a lease agreement with the Landlord.

The Primary Tenant remains fully bound and liable for all the terms and conditions until the expiry date of the lease.

The Primary Tenant then enters into a separate agreement with a third party i.e. a sublease or a sublet agreement for the whole or for a portion of the rental property.

This is done with the consent of the landlord but without involving the landlord in the sub-agreement.

Any third party, now the Subtenant (or there may be more than one subtenant e.g. 3 as per our cats illustration) will pay rent, utilities etc.

However, the Primary Tenant is still responsible in all respects of the original lease agreement and is now also responsible for the actions (including damages caused to the property) of the Subtenant.

It is therefore vital for a primary tenant to screen the prospective subtenant / sublessee thoroughly before subletting. If a subtenant violates the terms of the original lease then the primary tenant himself may be in danger of being evicted and suffer all the consequences thereof.

It's also important to note that the person who signed the lease with the landlord as primary tenant, will have the right to evict a subtenant if there are legal grounds to do so.

Sidebar about a Sublease Clause: There will normally be a sublease clause in the lease agreement which will either state that subletting is not allowed, or that it is allowed with prior written approval from the landlord. A landlord needs to consider whether to allow subletting on a platform such as Airbnb or whether to specify that the premises may not be sublet to short-term tenants.

Our free lease agreements generally state the following in the clause regarding subletting: "consent will not be unreasonably withheld".

Difference Between Sublease and Assignment of a Lease

Reletting or lease takeover or assignment of a lease are the terms used where the landlord enters into a new lease with a new or substitute tenant and thereby absolves the original primary tenant of all liabilities.

This assignment of a lease to a new party, before the conclusion of the original lease, can obviously only be done with the landlord's permission.

There is no subletting or subleasing involved!

How to Sublease a Property - 4 Important Steps

1. Review the lease agreement before subletting

The lease may stipulate the maximum number of occupants in the dwelling and whether it is a condition of the lease to get prior written approval from the landlord. Even if it is not a requirement, you are well advised to do so in any case.

Note: There may be local laws and regulations which may prohibit or restrict the subletting of a property.

If subletting is not allowed as per the original lease agreement, then the landlord can enter into his own lease agreement with the new roommate. An addendum to the lease as per our free template, is a simple way to provide for a substitute tenant.

A landlord may grant permission to sublet in principle, but may specifically state that there shall not be subletting to short-term tenants e.g. a couple of days or weeks at a time. This may be because the local bylaws or specific apartment building regulations do not allow it, and/or because the landlord does not want the increased wear and tear and security risk.

2. Submit a written request to sublet to your landlord / rental agency

Include a short bio of the new roommate as per the sample letter below:

Dear Landlord,

I hereby request permission for John Smith to be added to the lease agreement as a co-tenant / subtenant (whichever the case may be).

He is a tenant in good standing at his current address where he's been renting for a period of two years.

He's been employed as a lecturer at the same college for the past five years and will gladly submit a payslip, a copy of his credit report as well as contact details for his employer and landlord who can provide references for him.

Thank you in advance for your kind consideration and if my request meets your approval, please advise the way forward.

Sincerely,
Your Tenant

These kinds of details will give an experienced landlord a very quick overview of the suitability of the roommate.

If you yourself are in good standing as a tenant, most landlords will consider such a request favourably because it helps tenants with the affordability of the rental.

The landlord can then reply with a Consent to Sublease Letter and forward you an application form which will require more personal details and thereafter provide the necessary legal agreement.

Alternatively, if you are the Primary Tenant and you will be subletting to John, you can use our free roommate sublease agreement template.

3. Negotiate the rental and security deposit amounts

A landlord may consent to the addition of a roommate but may want to increase the rent and security deposit because of increased wear and tear on the property.

Entering into a new lease with the landlord (when adding the roommate as co-tenant) creates a legal opportunity for the landlord to do so with immediate effect. In other words, the landlord is not obliged to keep the rental as per the terms in the original lease.

Having said that - if a landlord has a tenant that pays on time all the time and looks after the property well, he may prefer to keep the lease in her name and let her have the responsibility with a sublease to recover rent from and keep the subtenant in tow.

Landlords should value a good tenant and if the increase is too high, the tenant may choose to rather vacate which will be much more costly for the landlord.

A tenant in good standing must also know that she has a strong base for negotiation! Make a counter offer to the landlord e.g. an increase in the security deposit (as far as it is permissible in the jurisdiction) but a smaller increase or no increase of the rental.

4. Download your free Sublet Lease Agreements and Forms

If the landlord agrees to the primary tenant entering into a subletting or subleasing agreement then select the sublease agreement template best suited for your requirements as a draft sublease agreement.

One Page Sublease Contract

Roommate Sublease Agreement - This form is specifically tailored for shared accommodation and makes reference to the cleaning schedule and house rules, which is available as a stand-alone Roommate Rules Agreement (especially important for a college roommate agreement.)

Note that the free roommate sublet lease agreement stipulates an initial period for the sublease, whereafter it will continue as a sublease month to month agreement. (If you want to end it as per the original lease agreement, then delete the sentence saying it will continue month-to-month.)

Roommate Rules Agreement - This is drafted as a stand-alone document. A roommate chore chart is also available to illustrate how a roommate cleaning schedule can be structured.

Roommate Sublease Agreement

THE PARTIES TO THIS ROOMMATE SUBLEASE AGREEMENT ARE:

1. The Landlord: _____________________________________
2. The Premises located at: _____________________________

3a. The Primary Tenant: _______________________________
3b. The Subtenant: ___________________________________

Whereas the Primary Tenant entered into a Lease Agreement with the Landlord on _______________ 20___ for the Premises. This agreement is now entered into with the prior written permission of the Landlord and shall be construed as a Roommate Sublease Agreement.

4. The Subtenant is renting the following areas within the Premises:

4a. Private access: (_)Bedroom (_)Bathroom (_)Balcony (_)Parking Bay (_) ___________________
The cleaning and upkeep of the privately accessed areas shall be done by the Subtenant.
4b. Shared access: (_)Kitchen (_)Lounge (_)Dining (_)Laundry (_)Patio (_) Garden (_)Bathroom (_)Basement (_) Parking (_)___________________

5. Security Deposit: ________ payable by the Subtenant upon signing of this Roommate Sublease Agreement. Rent may not be offset against the security deposit.

6. Rental Amount: _________ payable by the Subtenant prior to occupation and thereafter to the Landlord monthly in advance on or before the first day of the month.

7. Term of Subtenant Rental: Starting on ________________ and ending on___________________. Thereafter the rental shall continue on a month-to-month basis, requiring _____ months written notice from either party to end the rental. A Subtenant may leave earlier if a substitute tenant can be found with the approval of the Primary Tenant, other Roommates where applicable and the Landlord, whose approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. The Subtenant remains liable for his/her portion of the rent until the end of the rental period if a substitute cannot be found earlier.

8. Additional Amounts Payable: Utilities and subscriptions not covered by the rental amounts:
__________________ Paid as follows: ____________________
__________________ Paid as follows: ____________________

9. Additional Terms and Conditions:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

10. Other Agreements and Forms:
(_) Roommate Rules Agreement
(_) Cleaning Roster
(_) Other _______________________

11. Whole Agreement: By signing below the Subtenant acknowledges receipt of a copy of the original Lease Agreement as well as other Agreements and Forms and agrees to fully abide by the Terms and Conditions contained therein. The Subtenant further warrants having read and understood this Roommate Sublease Agreement and voluntarily agrees to abide by the terms and conditions contained herein and in any other agreements and forms pertaining to the renting of the Premises attached hereto as being the whole agreement. Any amendments shall become effective when done in writing and signed by all the parties.

12. Jurisdiction: All legal issues arising under these terms will be governed by the rules and laws in ____________________________.

Primary Tenant Signature: __________________ Date: _________
Names: __________________________

Subtenant Signature: _____________________ Date: ___________
Names: __________________________

If you need original room rental agreements then the following free templates are available:

Room Rental Agreement - Landlord agreement with a single tenant, i.e. a one-on-one agreement. You could use this agreement for each tenant even if they are sharing the same property.

Room Lease Agreement - Suitable for multiple roommates entering into a joint lease agreement / co lease agreement with the landlord.

You can also visit our main Real Estate Contracts page for links to more lease agreements and related documents.

The sublease agreement template on this page then makes provision to cross-reference to these documents.

Does this site deserve your thumbs up?