If you’re a tenant and want to move before the end of the lease, here are two ways you can avoid paying rent until the end of the lease: assigning (transferring) your lease or subletting.
What is the difference between subletting and assigning a lease?
You can assign your lease if you decide to leave your rental unit permanently during the course of the lease. You transfer your lease to someone else and have no further responsibilities as a tenant under the lease.
Subletting, on the other hand, is usually a temporary arrangement. When you sublet your apartment, you have the right to return once the sub-lease comes to an end. But when you sublet, you’re still responsible for the lease (including any unpaid rent) and have other responsibilities toward the sub-tenant.
What does an assignment or sublet mean for the people involved?
When you assign your lease, the person taking over the lease assumes all the rights and responsibilities you had as a tenant toward the landlord. You no longer have any rights under the lease or responsibilities toward the landlord. Note that you cannot ask the person to whom you assign your lease to pay you, or to give you anything else in exchange.
In a sublet, the person to whom you sublet – the subtenant – becomes the temporary tenant under the lease and has all the rights of a tenant, except the right of “occupancy”, that is, the right to remain in the apartment indefinitely. This means that, as the original tenant, you can return at the end of the sublet.
When you sublet, you remain responsible for the lease. If the subtenant does not pay the rent, you are responsible for paying it. You cannot ask the subtenant to pay a higher rent than you are paying. However, you can ask them to pay the costs of services or utilities they use (for example, internet and electricity), and a reasonable amount for the use of your furniture.
Also, when you sublet, you assume the responsibilities of a landlord toward the subtenant. You must leave the apartment in good, clean, and habitable condition. If repairs are needed and the landlord doesn’t do them, the subtenant can ask you to do the repairs. You also have to make sure the sub-tenant can live in the apartment peacefully.
Do all tenants have the right to assign their lease or sublet?
No. The law says that there are three situations in which you cannot assign your lease or sublet:
- You are a student renting housing in an educational institution.
- You are a tenant in low-rental housing.
- Your rental unit is declared as the main family residence of your family residence and your spouse or partner refuses to sublet or assign the lease.
What steps do I have to take to assign my lease or sublet?
If you are in a situation that lets you assign your lease or sublet, you must send your landlord a notice of lease assignment or sublet, once you have found a potential tenant.
This notice must include the name and address of the potential tenant. In the case of an assignment, you must include the date it would take effect. This is not required in the case of a sublet but is always a good practice. You must send this notice to the landlord’s address as it appears on your lease, and it must be written in the same language (French, English, etc.) as the lease.
You can get a model notice on the website of the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL, or rental board).
The landlord must reply within 15 of getting your notice. Therefore, the projected date for the assignment or sublet should not be less than 15 days after the date the landlord receives your notice. You should take this into account when writing your notice.
In the case of a sublet, the landlord cannot refuse unless they have a serious reason, such as the proposed tenant’s inability to pay the rent or problematic behaviour of this tenant.
In the case of a lease assignment, a landlord can also refuse for a serious reason, like the ones mentioned above. In this case, your lease continues as before.
However, due to a change in the law that took effect on February 21, 2024, landlords now also have the option of refusing a transfer without a serious reason. In this case, your lease is cancelled as of the date the assignment was supposed to take effect. You can therefore leave your apartment at that date without any further obligation toward the landlord.
Your lease and the building rules cannot remove your right to sublet or assign your lease. This is the case no matter what your lease or the building rules say. If the landlord does not respond to your notice within the 15-day period, the law considers that your landlord has accepted your request to assign or sublet.
What can I do if my landlord refuses to let me sublet or assign the lease?
For lease assignment notices sent before February 21, 2024, and for sublets, you can ask the TAL to force your landlord to accept if you believe the landlord did not have a serious reason for refusing.
However, as mentioned above, for notices of assignment sent after February 21, 2024, landlords have the option of refusing an assignment without a serious reason, leading to the cancellation of your lease without further obligations toward the landlord. If the landlord says they have a serious reason for refusing the assignment, but you disagree, you can ask the TAL to force your landlord to accept the assignment or to cancel your lease.
For more information on requests to the TAL, see our article The Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL or rental board).
Can a landlord cancel a sublet?
Yes. A landlord can ask to cancel a sublet if the subtenant causes serious inconvenience to the landlord or the other occupants of the building. This could be the case, for example, if the subtenant pays the rent late or causes so much noise that other tenants complain.
A landlord in this situation can request not only the cancellation of the lease, but also compensation (money) for the harm caused.