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?
In most cases, you’re allowed to assign your lease or sublet. Your lease or the building rules can’t take away this right.
The law says that there are three situations in which you cannot assign your lease or sublet:
- You are a student renting student housing.
- You are a tenant in low-rental housing.
- Your rental unit is declared as the main 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 days 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 can only refuse if they have a serious reason, like if the proposed tenant can’t afford the rent or has a record of problematic behaviour.
In the case of a lease assignment, a landlord doesn’t need a serious reason to refuse. If they don’t have a serious reason, 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.
If the landlord does have a serious reason to refuse your lease assignment or sublet, the lease continues to exist. The landlord’s answer to your notice must mention the reasons for their refusal. If the landlord does not respond to your notice within the 15-day period, the law considers them to have accepted your request.
What can I do if my landlord refuses to let me sublet or assign the lease?
For sublets, you can ask the TAL to force your landlord to accept if you believe the landlord didn’t have a serious reason for refusing.
For assignments, landlords have the option to refuse without a serious reason. 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.