|
| |
What
is a Subtenant and Should You Give
Permission to Sublet? - Sublet Guide
What
exactly are subtenants and should you give your tenants permission to
sublet? From whether you should allow sublets to evicting a subtenant,
learn how to handle sublets with our complete sublet guide.
What are Sub Tenants
or Subletters?
If you are a landlord and rent out your property to someone, that
person is known as your main tenant. When your main tenant does not
stay on your rental property but re-rents it to another person, this
person will become a sub-tenant or subletter.
When your main tenant re-rents your property, it is known as a sublet
or sublease. In most cases, he will be require the landlord's
permission to sublet. When this happens, your main tenant will
continue paying his rent to
you just like before. In turn your main tenant will
be collecting rent payments from his sub-tenant.
The amount of rent that your main tenant pays you remains the same
while he is free to charge the subtenants any amount that they agree
on.
What
are the Common Reasons for Having a Subletter?
For our
sublet guide to answer
this question, we will have to look at why your main tenant will
want to re-rent your property to someone else:
The first
reason is for his own personal gains. Let's say that your main tenant
is paying $1,000 for rent every
month. If rental prices in your area have risen, he may be
tempted
to sublet your rental property to another person for $1,500. That way
he can
pocket an easy $500 profit every month.
There is
another reason why your tenant will want to sublet your
property - He will not be able to stay on your rental property for a
period of time.
Let's say he has to work overseas for a few month. Even though he is
not staying on your rental property, he will still have to continue
paying you rent during these month. Then it makes sense for him to look
for someone to live on your rental property temporarily during this
period so
that he can recover some rent from his subletter.
How to Handle Sublet
and Subtenants
The bad news is that as a landlord, you generally have very limited
control over your subletter.
When it comes to choosing and screening a subletter, the landlord
usually has no say unless your main tenant gives you permission to do
so. This is not good because most main tenants tend to be too casual
when choosing sub-tenants or they may lack the skills for screening tenants and
subletters.
If the sub-tenant causes problems or refuses to pay his rent, what
you can do to deal with him is also highly
restricted. In many cases, evicting a subtenant requires a draggy and
costly eviction.
Should
You Allow Subtenants on Your Rental Property?
As you can probably tell, giving renters the permission to sublet and
allowing a subletter to live on your
rental property is a recipe for disaster in most cases.
That's why we highly recommend that you do not give your main tenant
any permission
to sublet your property.
You can do this by including a
statement in your written rental agreements that prohibits subletting.
If you live in the United States, Click
here for our complete sublet guide to the sublet laws for every U.S.
state.
However there is some exceptions where you may want to consider having
a subletter. If you have an excellent tenant who needs to travel
overseas for a longer period of time, then perhaps you can allow him to
temporarily sublet just to cover his rent payments.
If you choose to do that, make sure your main tenant allows you to
screen and choose who is living on your rental property and have stated
in writing that this subtenant is only allowed to stay on your property
only for short fixed period of time.
Read
what our visitors have to share below OR Scroll down to
add your own comment
Will You Allow Subtenants on Your Rental Property?
If you are a landlord, will you give your tenants the permission to sublet? If you already have a subletter, how do you manage them effectively? Share your own sublet guide and valuable experience with everyone here - We will love to hear your tips, comments and real life stories:
What Our Visitors Have to Say When it Comes to Subletting
Click on the links below to read the valuable tips that our other visitors have to share:
How to Avoid a Subtenant
Not rated yet
Many main tenants take on a subtenant without knowing what they are getting themselves into. To them subtenants are just an extra wallet to help them cover ...
Do you want to learn MORE practical must-know facts on
dealing with tenants?
Return
from
this Subtenant Sublet guide to our Managing
Rental Property guide
|
|
