sublet

Imagine you've signed a year-long lease for an apartment, but you're going away for the summer. Instead of leaving it empty while still paying rent, you might sublet it to someone else. In other words, you rent the place, or part of it, to another person while your own lease is still active. This is common in cities with high rents and among students, interns, or people traveling for work. Usually, you need your landlord's permission first. You can think of it as a temporary "lease within a lease."

To sublet means to rent out all or part of a property you are currently leasing to another person. It is a common practice when the original tenant needs to move away temporarily—for work, travel, or other personal reasons—but wants to keep their lease active and avoid the penalties of breaking the agreement.

The process usually involves getting written permission from your landlord before the new person moves in. The landlord typically needs to approve the new tenant (the "subtenant") and may have specific rules regarding the length of the sublet or the type of occupancy allowed.

It is important to note that subletting is not the same as assigning a lease. When you assign a lease, you transfer it to someone else more fully. A sublet is usually temporary, and the original tenant often still remains responsible under the main lease. You can also sublet just a portion of your space, like a spare bedroom, while continuing to live in the rest of the property yourself.

In daily conversation, you might hear "sublet" used as both a verb ("I'm going to sublet my apartment for the winter") and a noun ("I found a great sublet in Brooklyn"). It is especially common in places where people often need short-term housing. For example: "Finding a sublet for the summer was a lifesaver!" or "She advertised her spare room as a sublet online."