What are my roommate rights regarding a subtenant?
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What are my roommate rights regarding a subtenant?
My roommate wants to break a lease in our apartment. It was for 1 year and were in month 8. We have 4 months to the end of the lease. He wants to sublease to a person he finds on-line and I don’t want to live with a stranger to replace him. Can he get the stranger to live in his room without my consent(essentially, forcing a stranger to live here)? Does the landlord have to approve? If the landlord signs an approval but I don’t, does her signature override my desire not to live with a stranger? Do I have to sign anything approving a sublease?
Asked on October 26, 2011 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Whether or not your current roommate can sublease his interest in the rental that you currently have depends upon the terms of the presumed written lease that you have with the landlord. I suggest that you carefully read the written lease that you may have with the landlord regarding subleasing the unit in that the document's terms control the obligations owed to the landlord by the tenants and vice versa absent conflicting state law.
If the agreement allows for a sublease, then there is not really much that you can do other than to contact the landlord over your concerns about a new roommate who might not pay his or her share of the rental.
Most likely the landlord must approve in writing any sublease of the rental.
Good luck.
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