Subleasing

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This website provides information on renting for residency in Lexington, Kentucky. Renting laws change from city to city, and from state to state. You should NOT assume any of the information provided in this website applies to an area outside of Lexington.

>Renting Laws >Subleasing

SUBLEASING

Subleasing is when a tenant rents his/her apartment to someone for part of his/her lease (e.g. for the summer). You may want to rent your apartment to someone else to avoid breaking your lease. A tenant can sublease to another as long as the Lease does not forbid it.

If you want to sublease:

Contact your landlord after examining your lease and explain your desire to sublease the apartment.
Get a WRITTEN statement confirming your agreement both with the landlord and the tenant who is subleasing. Make sure you, the landlord, and the subleasing tenant have all SIGNED and DATED the agreement.

IMPORTANT: There is a certain amount of RISK in subleasing. As the original tenant you are still responsible for the rent and any damages made to the apartment (even if it is the person subleasing who caused damages or didn’t pay rent). This means that any action taken by the landlord for rent, damages, or even eviction for tenant noncompliance will be against you, the original tenant. If you want, you can later bring the person who subleased to court to get paid back.

So, it is important to consider the following advice:

KNOW the person/people subleasing if at all possible! Make sure you TRUST them.
Get a sublease contract or WRITTEN statement of some kind! Make sure you, the landlord, and the subleasing tenant have all SIGNED and DATED the agreement.
Fill out a checklist of the contents and the condition of your apartment when you move out and your subleasers move in. Be sure to SIGN and DATE the list. This can prove useful if you have to take the subleasers to court.

Since subleasing can be confusing and dangerous, it might be to your advantage to have your landlord agree to release you from your lease (see Ending Tenancy). This is the safest and clearest arrangement for you.