Subletting Your Leasehold
Prior to subletting your leasehold, review your leasehold agreement to confirm if you are allowed to rent out your leasehold property. Make sure to not violate any rules when subletting your lease as most lease agreements set out that leaseholders require freeholders’ consent to sublet.
Subletting Your Leasehold
Leaseholders can sublet the entire or part of the property if the lease agreement allows them to do so. After subletting the flat or property, the leaseholder will become a landlord and will be responsible for the acts of the tenants.
If the lease agreement states that the leaseholder must occupy the property solely and exclusively, they cannot sublet the property to other tenants. The leaseholder will likely face serious legal consequences in the case of breach of the lease contract.
If you have a mortgage, the leaseholder must obtain the consent of the mortgage lender to sublet. For shared ownership properties, the shared owner is not allowed to sublet the property except for exceptional circumstances.
Renting Out the Property
- Letting ‘part’ of the Property – Some leases do not permit subletting the property; therefore, the leaseholder can rent out only a ‘part’ of the property.
- Single-Family Residence – It would be a breach of the lease to sublet a property intended for single-family residence to several sub-tenants not a part of a family unit.
- Holiday Let – Holiday letting is immensely popular nowadays, however, still relatively new. The property is let for a specific period, usually for a period of 90 days or less.
- Business Purposes – Often, lease contracts do not allow the property used for business operations. Carefully read the contract to confirm any restrictions in this regard.
Registering the Sublet
If the lease contract allows you to rent out the leased property, inform the council about subletting within 21 days of the sublet date. Additionally, send the council the following information
- A copy of the tenancy agreement with the sub-tenant
- Your contact information including postal address, email, and phone number
When subletting your property, make sure that the tenancy agreement has similar terms and conditions that are applicable to you as a leaseholder.
The leaseholder becomes a landlord after subletting, therefore, is responsible for ensuring that the new tenant complies with the terms of the agreement.
Responsibilities as a Landlord
The landlord becomes a landlord and has the same responsibilities after renting out the lease.
- Make sure that the sub-tenant(s) does not violate the rules and regulations of the lease agreement
- They are liable for the landlord duties under the Gas Safety Regulations 1998 including annual gas safety checks and repair and maintenance of pipework and appliances
- Conduct electrical safety checks to ensure all electrical appliances are safe to use
- The furniture supplied to the property is in compliance with the Furniture and Furnishings Fire Safety Regulations 1998
- The landlord is also responsible for providing a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate
In addition, inform tenants to report repairs, maintain the structure and exterior of the property, and give them your postal address and phone number to contact you in the event of an emergency.
Disclaimer:
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Connaught Law and authors accept no responsibility for loss that may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Connaught Law. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Connaught Law.
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