Subletting a rented home: consent required by law
Most countries require the landlord's consent before subletting. Canada and Germany prohibit arbitrary refusal of consent; Spain allows subletting without consent for business use but requires it for residential properties; Japan and Austria require permission but offer no standard against arbitrary refusal.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
| Country | Consent required? | Landlord can refuse? | Rent increase on subletting? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Yes, to sublet | Not stated in statute | |
| Canada | Yes, with landlord consent | Landlord shall not arbitrarily or unreasonably withhold | Only reasonable out-of-pocket expenses |
| Germany | Yes, landlord permission required | Landlord may refuse (with conditions) | |
| Spain | Depends: no consent for business; yes for residential | Can refuse residential subletting; no refusal for business | 10–20% increase permitted |
| Japan | Yes, permission required | Landlord can refuse; court can override | |
| Sweden | Yes, rental board permission required | Board must grant unless landlord has justified reason |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Mietrechtsgesetz § 2
- Untermiete (subletting) is defined as a tenancy with a person other than the original property owner or their authorized lessors.
- The statute defines what constitutes subletting but does not specify whether the landlord can refuse or on what grounds.
Untermiete liegt vor, wenn der Mietvertrag mit einer Person geschlossen wird, die in Abs. 1 nicht genannt ist Canada
- Rule
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (Ontario) § 97
- Ontario: Tenant may sublet only with landlord consent. Landlord cannot arbitrarily or unreasonably withhold consent and can charge only for reasonable expenses incurred in giving consent.
- After subletting, tenant remains liable for the lease and the subtenant is liable to the tenant for the sub-lease.
A tenant may sublet a rental unit to another person with the consent of the landlordA landlord shall not arbitrarily or unreasonably withhold consent to the sublet of a rental unit to a potential subtenantA landlord may charge a tenant only for the landlord's reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in giving consent to a subletting Germany
- Rule
- Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch § 540
- Tenant cannot allow a third party to use the rental property without landlord permission, particularly for subletting.
- If landlord refuses, tenant may terminate the lease with statutory notice period, unless there is an important reason related to the third party.
Der Mieter ist ohne die Erlaubnis des Vermieters nicht berechtigt, den Gebrauch der Mietsache einem Dritten zu überlassen, insbesondere sie weiter zu vermietenVerweigert der Vermieter die Erlaubnis, so kann der Mieter das Mietverhältnis außerordentlich mit der gesetzlichen Frist kündigen, sofern nicht in der Person des Dritten ein wichtiger Grund vorliegt Spain
- Rule
- Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos artículos 8, 32
- Business use: Tenant may sublet or assign without landlord consent; landlord has right to 10–20% rent increase depending on type of subletting.
- Residential: Only partial subletting allowed and requires written consent from landlord.
- Both must be notified to landlord within one month.
La vivienda arrendada sólo se podrá subarrendar de forma parcial y previo consentimiento escrito del arrendador Cuando en la finca arrendada se ejerza una actividad empresarial o profesional, el arrendatario podrá subarrendar la finca o ceder el contrato de arrendamiento sin necesidad de contar con el consentimiento del arrendadorEl arrendador tiene derecho a una elevación de renta del 10 por 100 de la renta en vigor en el caso de producirse un subarriendo parcial, y del 20 en el caso de producirse la cesión del contrato o el subarriendo total Japan
- Rule
- 借地借家法 (Building Lease Act) § 19
- Tenant cannot assign or sublet without consent from the lessor.
- If lessor unreasonably refuses consent when subletting would not be disadvantageous to the lessor, tenant may apply to court for permission to override refusal.
借地権者が賃借権の目的である土地の上の建物を第三者に譲渡しようとする場合において、その第三者が賃借権を取得し、又は転借をしても借地権設定者に不利となるおそれがないにもかかわらず、借地権設定者がその賃借権の譲渡又は転貸を承諾しないときは、裁判所は、借地権者の申立てにより、借地権設定者の承諾に代わる許可を与えることができる Sweden
- Rule
- Jordabalk (Land Code) 12 kap. § 36
- Transfer of rental rights for business premises requires permission from the rental board (hyresnämnden).
- Board must grant permission unless landlord has legitimate grounds to object. Stricter standard (especially good reasons) if tenant has held the lease less than three years.
Den som hyr en lägenhet för att helt eller till väsentlig del använda den för handel, hantverk, industri eller annan förvärvsverksamhet, får överlåta hyresrätten till den som skall överta verksamheten, om hyresnämnden lämnar tillstånd till överlåtelsenSådant tillstånd skall lämnas, om hyresvärden ej har befogad anledning att motsätta sig att hyresrätten överlåts Countries not in this table yet
United Kingdom (Housing Act 2004 does not address subletting; relevant law is in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, not ingested), Netherlands (Burgerlijk Wetboek Book 7 does not contain explicit subletting consent requirement), and Norway (Husleieloven lacks explicit subletting provisions).
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
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LawAsked, “Subletting a rented home: consent required by law”, https://lawasked.com/guides/subletting-rights (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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