Sub Let

Hi,

I have been renting an apartment from somebody who sublets. He is now leaving and would like me to continue instead of him.

Thus, my question - if the owner agrees that i can sublet the other rooms and i give a contract to those who do rent the rooms off me stating that i am an intermediary and effectively subletting the rooms then is this totally legal?

Also, is there anything to say that i can't make a profit from it i.e. charge the tenants more from the rooms that what i pay the owner in rent? I doubt i could achieve this if i continue living here as well but i am thinking more in terms of if i go away for a few months/a year and sublet my bedroom too during that period.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

James

Hello JamesP,

There are two possible situations that we can find, always in the event that the current rental agreement is formalized as permanent residence rental contract and not a seasonal rent or a contract for a property which purpose is not to act as dwelling.


1) Sublet:

It can only be a partial sublet ( a part of the dwelling – a room - ), that is, if you wish to sublet the dwelling, you must remain in it, as total sublet is not accepted by Law. You will need the landlord's written consent in advance, to be able to formalize the sublet. We recommend you to sign a separate sublet agreement with each sub-tenant, but in any case, the conditions set forth in the sublet must be the same as the ones indicated in the property rental contract and under no circumstances will the overall sublet rental fees exceed the monthly rental fee agreed by the tenant and the Landlord. This answers your question about the gain you could get and also clarifies you cannot rent out your own room, as you must remain there.


2) Transfer ( Cesion ):

In case you had to leave the property for a certain period of time, you would be able to transfer the rental agreement to a new tenant, being the previous written consent of the landlord a legal requirement. IN this case, the new tenant would be taking the role of the previous tenant and would have to pay the monthly rent directly to the landlord: This transfer can be set for a certain/specific period of time ( for instance, only for the period of time you will be away ).

For both options, the landlord would be in his full right to resolve the contract and evict the tenant in case any of the above mentioned requirements were not met.

I hope these answers have been helpful.

Regards,