Subletting
What is Subletting?
Subletting is where the existing tenant lets some or all of the property which they are renting from the landlord of the property. If you sublet from someone else, you pay rent to that tenant and they will then pass the rent onto the actual landlord.
Subletting can sometimes be useful if you are living in a large property and you have spare rooms (through lack of use or other tenants moving out). It can however carry risks for both parties.
There are two main types of subletting:
- Someone sublets the whole property while they are not living there. Peoples reasons for doing this are varied but could be because they have found a new house share or are taking a long holiday / travelling and don't want to loose the house while they are away.
- A tenant of the property sublets rooms in the property whilst they are living there. This could be because someone else has moved out, it could be because they can no longer afford the rent on their own, or could be they decided to find the perfect property and then rent out the spare rooms.
Problems with subletting
If you are subletting to other people and passing the money on to the landlord, then should anything go wrong then you alone are responsible. If one of your subtenants does not pay their rent or if they damage the property then you will be left to pay the bill.
The only was to ensure this does not happen is to get the new tenants added to any agreement that you have with the landlord, so they are renting from the landlord rather than subletting via you. Most agreements do not allow subletting.
If you are moving into a new property and you are not sure if you are subletting or not then check with the landlord. Because some letting agents charge excessive fees its very common to move into a property and just take someone elses place in the property. Legally though you do not have an agreement and while most of the time this causes no problems at all, but it could do if any issues arise.
For more detailed information subletting visit Shelter.
delicious
digg
blinklist
furl
stumbleupon