Subletting/Assigning Tenancies

Most landlords want to stay in control of who lives in their property.

If you chose your tenant after references and other checks, you will usually not want that tenant to pass the tenancy to someone else or bring in a sub-tenant without your agreement.

From 1 May 2026, almost all assured tenancies in England’s private rented sector are periodic. That makes the rules on subletting and assignment more relevant in everyday management.

The basic rule

In simple terms, a periodic assured tenant cannot usually:

  • assign the tenancy to someone else
  • sublet the property
  • part with possession of all or part of the property

unless the landlord agrees.

So if a tenant wants someone else to take over, or wants to let all or part of the property to another person, they should ask first.

Your tenancy agreement should say this clearly. A sensible clause is that the tenant must not assign, sublet or part with possession without the landlord’s prior written consent, or it can be an absolute prohibition (s.15 Housing Act 1988).

That helps you keep control over who is living in the property and gives you the chance to carry out checks before agreeing to any change.

What should a landlord do in practice?

If a tenant wants to leave, assignment or subletting is usually not the best answer.

In most cases, the cleaner option is either:

  • the tenant gives notice and ends the tenancy properly
  • you agree an early surrender and, if you accept a replacement, grant a new tenancy to the new tenant or tenants

That is usually simpler than trying to adapt the existing tenancy so someone new can step into it.

A new tenancy keeps the paperwork clear. It shows who the tenants are, who is responsible for the rent, and to whom notices should be served.

Subletting

Subletting means the tenant lets the whole property or part of it to someone else.

Most landlords will not want this unless they have agreed to it in writing.

If subletting is allowed too easily, problems can follow. For example:

  • you may not know who is actually living in the property
  • the original tenant may stop managing the arrangement properly
  • there may be overcrowding or other occupation issues
  • rent arrears, damage and possession claims may become harder to deal with

For that reason, most landlords should require written consent before any subletting is allowed.

Assignment

An assignment is different from subletting.

Assignment occurs when the tenant transfers the entire tenancy to someone else, and that new person becomes the tenant.

That may work in some cases, but in most residential lettings, it is easier and safer to end the old tenancy and grant a new one.

A deed of assignment is usually not the best way to address a change in a tenancy, especially when one tenant is leaving, and another is being added.

That is because an assignment is really a transfer of the whole tenancy. It is not a natural fit where some joint tenants are staying, and only one person is leaving or joining.

The word “assignment” is not a term of art. It denotes any conveyance, transfer, assurance or other disposition of property from one party to another. The essence of an assignment is that it operates to transfer its subject-matter from the ownership of the assignor to that of the assignee. A lease is not an assignment, because it does not transfer any pre-existing property from the lessor to the lessee, but creates a new interest and vests it for the first time in the lessee. A purported assignment of the interest of one joint tenant to the other joint tenant does not constitute an assignment, because each of the joint tenants is already the owner of the whole. The so-called assignor has no separate interest of his own which is capable of being transferred to the other and which the other does not already own. …

Source: Lord Millett, Burton v. Mayor etc of The London Borough of Camden [2000] UKHL 8

Note: The above is not necessarily decisive, as it was an obiter comment and the case was not decided on that basis. However, it’s a helpful, authoritative comment. There are provisions in the Law of Property Act 1925 that allow certain transfers between joint tenants, which may be relevant in certain circumstances.

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