Sublease Agreement Template and How to Draft One (2026)

What is a sublease agreement? A sublease agreement is a contract where an existing tenant (the sublessor) rents out all or part of a property to a new occupant (the sublessee), while the original tenant keeps their own lease with the landlord. The original tenant stays on the hook to the landlord; the sublessee answers to the original tenant. A sublet is useful when you need to leave for a while, share your space, or hand over the time left on a lease without ending it. One rule comes before the template: check your own lease first. Most leases ban subletting or allow it only with the landlord's written consent. Subletting without permission can put you in breach of your own lease. Whether a sublease is allowed at all, and what formalities apply, varies by jurisdiction and by the terms of your head lease. ## A sublease agreement template you can use Copy the template below and fill in the bracketed parts. It is a starting point for a straightforward residential sublet, not a finished legal document for every situation. ```

SUBLEASE AGREEMENT This Sublease Agreement ("Sublease") is made on [date] BETWEEN [Full legal name of original tenant], of [address] ("Sublessor") AND [Full legal name of new occupant], of [address] ("Sublessee"). BACKGROUND A. The Sublessor is the tenant of [full property address] (the "Premises") under a lease dated [date of head lease] with [landlord name] (the "Head Lease"). B. The Sublessor wishes to sublet [the whole Premises / the room described as ...] to the Sublessee on the terms below. C. The landlord's written consent to this Sublease [has been obtained and is attached / is required and is being obtained]. 1. SUBLET PROPERTY The Sublessor sublets to the Sublessee: [the whole Premises / Room X plus shared use of kitchen, bathroom and common areas]. 2. TERM The Sublease runs from [start date] to [end date], unless ended earlier under this Sublease. It cannot extend beyond the end of the Head Lease on [head lease end date]. 3. RENT The Sublessee shall pay rent of [amount] per [month], due on the [nth] day of each [month], paid by [method] to [account / details]. 4. DEPOSIT The Sublessee shall pay a deposit of [amount] on signing, held by the Sublessor against damage and unpaid rent, and returned within [number] days of the end of the Sublease, less any lawful deductions, with an itemised list of any amount withheld. 5. UTILITIES AND CHARGES The following are included in the rent: [list]. The following are paid by the Sublessee on top of the rent: [list]. 6. USE The Premises shall be used only as a private residence. No business, no illegal use, no nuisance to neighbours or other occupants. 7. HEAD LEASE The Sublessee has read the Head Lease and agrees to follow all of its terms that apply to occupants, except the payment of rent to the landlord. Nothing in this Sublease may put the Sublessor in breach of the Head Lease. 8. CONDITION AND REPAIRS The Sublessee shall keep the Premises clean and in good order and report any damage promptly. The Sublessee is responsible for damage they or their guests cause. [Minor repairs under [amount]: Sublessee. Everything else: referred to the Sublessor / landlord.] 9. ALTERATIONS, PETS, SMOKING No alterations, pets or smoking without the Sublessor's prior written consent [and the landlord's consent where the Head Lease requires it]. 10. ENTRY The Sublessor may enter on [24 / 48] hours' written notice at reasonable times, and without notice in a genuine emergency. 11. TERMINATION Either party may end this Sublease by giving [number] days' written notice. The Sublease also ends automatically if the Head Lease ends for any reason. 12. LIABILITY The Sublessor remains responsible to the landlord under the Head Lease. The Sublessee is responsible to the Sublessor under this Sublease. 13. GOVERNING LAW This Sublease is governed by the law of [place], and any dispute will be dealt with by the courts of [place]. SIGNED Sublessor: ____________________ Date: __________ Sublessee: ____________________ Date: __________ Landlord consent (where required): ____________________ Date: __________

- **Background and Head Lease:** this is what makes a sublease different from a normal rental. It records that your own lease exists and that you are not giving away more than you have. Attach the landlord's consent if you have it.
- **Term:** the sublease can never run longer than your own lease. Set the end date on or before your head lease ends.
- **Rent and deposit:** be specific about amount, due date, method and the deposit return window. Decide whether you charge the same as your own rent or a different figure, within any limits local law sets.
- **Utilities:** spell out exactly what is included so there is no argument later.
- **Head lease clause:** this ties the sublessee to the rules you already signed up to, so you are not caught between the landlord's rules and the sublessee's behaviour. ## Common mistakes to avoid - Subletting without the landlord's consent when your lease requires it.
- Letting the sublease run past the end of your own lease.
- Leaving the deposit terms vague.
- Forgetting that you, the original tenant, still owe the rent to the landlord even if the sublessee stops paying you.
- Not writing down what is included in the rent. ## Where a contract workspace helps Everything above you can do by hand: read the clauses one by one, flag the risky ones, note the dates that matter, keep the signed copy somewhere you can find it later. It works. It also takes time, and the details are easy to lose once the agreement is signed and filed away. The same work can live in one place. A modern AI contract workspace lets you draft from a template that already fits how you deal, see each clause marked favourable, neutral or unfavourable to you, edit a clause in plain English, keep a live history of every change, and get an alert before a renewal or deadline arrives, instead of tracking it in your head or a spreadsheet. That is the idea behind [Adira](https://adiralaw.com): draft, understand, edit, track and govern every contract in one workspace, tuned to how your company contracts and built on frontier AI. You do not need software to use the checklist on this page. But if you handle more than a handful of agreements, the value of having the drafting, the review and the dates in a single system, rather than scattered across email, folders and memory, adds up quickly. *This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by country and by state, and your situation may need a qualified lawyer.*