Sub-letting/Assigning Tenancies

A landlord who has taken care to select a tenant by proper referencing and verification of suitability is unlikely to allow that chosen tenant to sublet, assign or transfer the tenancy to another without the landlord’s permission. In the past, tenancy agreements always tended to prohibit subletting or assignment.

Now, standard terms in residential tenancy agreements are subject to the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The Office of Fair Trading (as they were at the time) had previously issued guidance that absolute prohibitions on assignment and sub-letting could be considered unfair and, therefore, void in terms of the legislation. However, a model agreement recently produced by the Government prohibits absolutely sub-letting or assignment as one of its terms.

Landlords wishing to retain a degree of control over assignment and sub-letting are advised as a minimum to ensure that the tenancy agreement allows assignment or sub-letting only upon the landlord’s consent (which cannot, by law, be unreasonably withheld). It is unclear whether an absolute prohibition would be regarded as ‘unfair’.

Even if the tenancy agreement does not provide for it, it is suggested that the landlord should always agree to re-let the property to a suitable new tenant, allowing the original tenant to terminate their agreement early if they wish. Suppose the prospective new tenant is considered suitable, and there is only a short period remaining of the original contract. In that case, the landlord might consider offering a longer-term to help prevent a void period.

Suppose the tenancy is a contractual periodic tenancy or a statutory periodic tenancy that has arisen at the end of a fixed term. In that case, the tenant cannot by law give the tenancy or sub-let to someone else unless the landlord agrees that they can. A periodic tenant can end their tenancy by serving notice to quit.

Suppose the tenant has paid a premium for the property (a lump sum, possibly in addition to a small rental payment or a sum paid as a deposit greater than two months' rent). The tenant can sub-let unless there is a term in the tenancy agreement preventing this.