A sublet is a type of rental agreement between a tenant and a subtenant. This means that the tenant of a rental unit finds someone else to rent from them for a period of time.

The primary tenant is in the middle between the landlord and the subtenant. They’re a tenant to the landlord, and a landlord to the new tenant. Subtenants have all the same rights and responsibilities of a tenant, and a primary tenant has all the same rights and responsibilities as a landlord (as well as of a tenant). For more information on subletting your unit, see Subletting & Reassigning.

A sublet assumes that the primary tenant will return to the unit after a set amount of time. If a tenant does not intend to return to their unit and the landlord is aware of this, the law may treat it as a lease reassignment (more information here). Subletting from someone returning to their unit is effectively like signing a fixed term lease. The primary tenant is required to provide the date which they’ll be returning, and the subtenant must leave the unit on that date.