TENANT TIP:  SUBLETTING YOUR APARTMENT
 
 
Most people use the term subletting when leaving an apartment before the
lease has expired.  However the correct legal term is assigning. For
simplicity's sake the term subletting will be used here. 
 
1. If you have signed a lease and have now decided that you want to leave
you have 3 options:  try and negotiate something with your landlord
(landlord has right to say no you must sublet);  apply to the court to
break your lease (this will probably take a couple of months and you must
have a valid reason);  you can assign your lease to someone else (this is
more commonly referred to as subletting). 
 
2. Put up notices in laundromats, corner stores, bulletin boards, housing
boards, run an ad in the newspapers, etc., with your name and phone number
as the person to contact. 
 
3. Keep a list of everyone who responds to your ad and a permanent address
where you can reach them if you had to, even six months from now (e.g. a
work place, parent's or friend's residence). 
 
4. Although the landlord has a right to approve your sublet, if that is a
term of your lease, this approval cannot be unreasonably withheld.
Usually, unless the potential sublet has a bad credit rating the landlord
probably does not have a good reason for refusing.  If the landlord does
refuse to accept a sublet after you have presented him with three or four
responsible people, then you may consider deeming the landlord to be
unreasonably withholding consent. At this point, you have fulfilled your
obligations to sublet and you may want to consider simply moving out.
Although you are at risk that the landlord will take you to court you will
have evidence to show that the landlord refused to cooperate. (At this
point your list of names will come in very handy.) Your other alternative
is to go to court yourself to get the court's permission to terminate your
tenancy. For further information, call the TENANTS' HOTLINE at 594-5429
 
5. The landlord is only allowed to charge for the reasonable expenses he
incurs (e.g. credit checks) when giving his approval, in other words flat
fees of $100 - $150 are illegal. You can refuse to pay anything above his
reasonable expenses and you have a right to see the receipts for his
expenses. If you have already paid the fee, you can try and deduct it from
your next rent payment if you have one, recover it from the sublettee or
sue in Small Claims Court. 
 
6. Once you have sublet your apartment you may want to write to the
landlord and confirm that you have assigned your lease to Joe Smith. Use
the word assign rather than sublet because that is the correct legal term.
 Once you have sublet your apartment you are no longer responsible for
future rent or damages. 
 
7. Be sure to recover your last month's rent from either the landlord or
the sublettee. 
 
8. Don't sign a lease on your new place unless you are absolutely sure you
like it and are going to stay! 
 
9. All of the above is pursuant to section 89 of the Landlord and Tenant Act.