ANNOUNCER: I’m with Kevin Kok from Cohen Highley Lawyers. Can a tenant in an apartment sublet the unit to someone else without first getting the landlord’s approval to do so?
KEVIN: They cannot, no. Tenants must obtain their landlord’s consent before they can sublet their unit. If a tenant went ahead and sublet their unit without obtaining their landlord’s consent, then the subtenant would be an unauthorized occupant.
ANNOUNCER: Okay, so does that mean the decision is entirely up to the landlord and not the renter?
KEVIN: No, not entirely. Well, as mentioned, a tenant does need to get their landlord’s consent in order to sublet. The landlord cannot just arbitrarily or unreasonably withhold their consent. Having said that, there are a series of rules that exist concerning valid sublets and if these rules are not complied with, the subtenant effectively becomes an unauthorized occupant or overholding subtenant as the case may be.
ANNOUNCER: Thanks, Kevin. This has been the Cohen Highley Legal Moment. Cohenhighley.com.
