Subletting, assigning a lease and adding a housemate

Key rules

• Consent: Get the landlord's prior written consent before you sublet part of the home or assign the lease, or the landlord may terminate it.
• Whole flat: Letting the whole flat, including short tourist stays, also needs the landlord's written consent.
• Sublet price: A subtenant cannot pay more than the rent you pay for the same amount of space.
• Family: Your partner, children or close relatives can normally live with you without consent while you still live there.
• Subtenant: A subtenant has no protection against the landlord and can only claim against you.

When you need the landlord's consent

You need the landlord's prior written consent to sublet part of the home or to assign the lease, or the landlord may terminate it. Ask first and get the answer in writing. Permission given afterwards, or only by word of mouth, is a risk. The template below can help you ask.

Your contract may add its own terms, such as an express permission to sublet. Read it before you do anything.

Subletting a room or the whole flat

• The whole flat: you cannot sublet it without the landlord's prior express written consent. Treat it as you leaving the home. Re-letting the whole home to tourists or for short stays without consent is a common reason landlords end leases.
• Price: the subtenant cannot pay more than the rent you pay for the same amount of space.
• Length: the sublease cannot last longer than your own lease. It ends when your lease ends.
• Who has claims: the subtenant has no direct claim against the landlord, and the landlord has no direct claim on the subtenant's rent.

If you want to let the whole home short term, also check your building's community rules and local tourist-rental rules.

Assigning the lease

Assigning the lease (cesión) means handing it to someone else so they take your place. It needs the landlord's prior written consent. Without it, the landlord can end the lease.

Adding or swapping a named tenant

Replacing a tenant or adding a new named tenant changes who is a party to the contract, so it needs the landlord's agreement. The usual route is a new contract or an addendum signed by the landlord and all tenants.

Two cases do not need this:

• If the tenant dies, the spouse or partner, or relatives who lived there, can take over the lease.
• After a separation or divorce, the spouse who stays in the home continues as tenant if the court gives them the use of it.

Partner, children and relatives

Your spouse, partner, children or close relatives can normally live with you without the landlord's consent. This holds if it is a shared household and you keep living there.

It becomes a breach if:

• you move out and others occupy the home in practice,
• people pay rent, or
• the use is clearly commercial.

Friends, lodgers and other unrelated people who pay you are a sublet, so you need consent. Some contracts limit the number of named occupants, so check yours. Courts vary on this, and clauses that clash with family living together are often ineffective.

What happens if you sublet without consent

The landlord can terminate the lease. The landlord cannot throw you out directly. They must bring a court claim and win a judgment before any eviction. They may also claim damages and unpaid rent. Landlords usually send formal notice by burofax first.

Your subtenant is in a weaker position. Their sublease ends with your lease, they must leave, and they can only claim against you.

A court may look at whether the landlord knew about the sublet and accepted it. A sublet tolerated for a long time may not justify ending the lease. Do not rely on this: get consent in writing.

Checklist

• Read your contract for any clause on subletting, assignment or named occupants.

• Get the landlord's prior written consent before subletting a room or part of the home.

• Get the landlord's prior written consent before assigning the lease or subletting the whole flat.

• Set the sublet price at or below the rent you pay for the same amount of space.

• Make the sublease end no later than your own lease.

• Check community and tourist-rental rules before letting the whole home short term.

What to watch out for

• Landlord can end the lease: If you sublet or assign without prior written consent, the landlord can terminate the lease and claim damages and unpaid rent. Get written consent before anyone pays you to live there.

• Court process, not instant eviction: The landlord must go to court and win a judgment before evicting, and usually also sends a burofax notice. If you get a burofax, read it at once and get advice from a tenants' association or lawyer.

• Subtenants have no protection against the landlord: A subtenant has no right against the landlord and must leave when the main lease ends. They can only claim against you. Tell any subtenant clearly that the sublease depends on your lease and the landlord's consent.

Template asking your landlord for permission to sublet

Send this before the person moves in. Fill in the blanks and keep a copy. Wait for a written "yes" before anyone moves in. A verbal OK is not enough, and without written consent the landlord may terminate your lease.

Check your contract first. If it says something different about subletting, the request may need to follow that.

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To: [Landlord's full name] From: [Your full name] Address of the rented home: [Street, number, floor, town, postcode] Date: [Date]

Subject: Request for written consent to sublet part of the home

Dear [Landlord's name],

I am the tenant of the home above under the lease dated [date of lease]. I am writing to ask for your prior written consent to sublet part of the home.

Details of the proposal

• Part of the home to be sublet: [for example, one bedroom, plus shared use of kitchen and bathroom]
• Proposed subtenant: [Full name, ID or passport number]
• Start date: [Date]
• End date: [Date, which will not be later than the end of my lease on [end date of main lease]]
• Monthly price of the sublease: [Amount] euros. This does not exceed the share of my rent that corresponds to the space being sublet.

Conditions

• I will remain the tenant and stay responsible to you under the lease.
• The sublease will end no later than my own lease ends, and it ends automatically if my lease ends earlier.
• I will give you a copy of the signed sublease if you agree.

Please reply in writing, by email or letter, to confirm your consent. You can do this by signing below.

Kind regards, [Your full name] [Your phone number and email]

Landlord's consent

I, [Landlord's full name], give my prior written consent to the sublease of [part of the home] to [subtenant's name] on the terms above.

Signature: ____________________ Date: ____________

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Before you send it

• Send it in a way that proves it arrived, such as email with a read receipt or a letter with proof of delivery.
• If you want to add a housemate and your lease is for the whole home, ask for the sublease of a room. Subletting the whole home needs consent too, and the landlord may refuse.
• Once you have the signed consent, write the sublease with the same price, dates and room as in this request.

Frequently asked questions

Can my partner or children move in without asking the landlord?

Usually yes. A spouse, partner, children or close relatives can share the home without consent, as long as it is a shared household and you keep living there. It becomes a breach if you move out, if they pay you rent, or if the use is clearly commercial.

Can I add or swap a named tenant on the contract?

Only with the landlord's agreement, because it changes who signs the lease. Two exceptions: if the tenant dies, a spouse, partner or cohabiting relatives can take over the lease.

What happens to a subtenant if the landlord ends my lease?

The subtenant must leave, because a sublease ends when the main lease ends. They can only claim against you, not the landlord.

Can I rent out the whole flat while I am away?

Only with the landlord's prior written consent, and the price must not exceed your own rent. Short-term or tourist letting of the whole home without consent is a common reason for a landlord to end the lease.