Subletting and Assigning Your Lease in Ontario: A Tenant's Guide
Need to leave before your lease ends, or fill your unit while you're away? Ontario gives tenants a real right to sublet or assign — and limits what a landlord can do to block it. Here's how the two options differ and how to do each properly.
Sublet vs. Assignment: The Key Difference
These two words get used interchangeably, but they are legally very different — and picking the right one matters.
- Sublet: someone lives in your unit for a defined period, and you come back before your tenancy ends. You remain the tenant and stay responsible to the landlord for rent and damage. Good for a summer away or a temporary work placement.
- Assignment: you transfer your entire tenancy to a new person and move out for good. Once the landlord consents, the new tenant steps into your shoes and your responsibility ends. Good for leaving permanently before a fixed term is up.
If you simply want out of a fixed-term lease early, assignment is often the cleanest route — see our guide on fixed-term vs month-to-month tenancies for how early exits work.
You Need Consent — But It Can't Be Withheld Unreasonably
For either option, you must get the landlord's consent. The crucial protection is that the landlord cannot arbitrarily or unreasonably withholdit. A landlord who simply doesn't feel like it, or who wants to end your below-market rent, is not refusing reasonably.
Make your request in writing and keep a copy. For an assignment, you can ask in two ways: to assign generally, or to assign to a specific person you've found. That distinction affects your timelines and rights if the landlord says no.
No Fees — Only Actual Costs
A landlord cannot charge you for the privilege of consenting. The only thing they can recover is their actual, reasonable out-of-pocket expensestied to the request — for example, the cost of a credit check on your proposed subtenant. A flat "sublet fee," a rent bump, or any premium as the price of a yes is not permitted.
If the Landlord Refuses or Goes Silent
You are not stuck if the landlord unreasonably refuses, or fails to respond within seven days of your request. Your options include:
- Apply to the LTB for an order authorizing the sublet or assignment, or determining that consent was unreasonably withheld.
- Give notice to end your tenancyon 30 days' notice (a right that opens up when you've asked to assign and been refused or ignored).
Which path is best depends on your goal — staying vs. leaving — so read the LTB's guidance or get tenant-advice support before you file.
Don't Overcharge Your Subtenant
A tempting trap in a hot rental market: charging your subtenant more than you pay. In Ontario that's illegal. You cannot charge a subtenant more than the lawful rent for the unit, and an overcharged subtenant can apply to the LTB to get the excess back — plus you remain on the hook to your landlord the whole time. Keep it at cost.