Subletting occurs when a tenant to whom you have rented in turn rents the unit to someone else.
For example, you rent one of your apartment units to someone on a one-year lease but for some reason the tenant must vacate the unit and in turn sublets the unit to a friend.
But this is never a good idea nor is it good business on the part of the property owner; in fact subletting rental units and lease assignment should be forbidden in the lease or rental agreement.
If subletting is permitted you will have no idea whom the new tenant actually is because you never had an opportunity to screen the person. All of which means a loss of your control at the property, an undermining of your authority as the property owner, and your exclusion from the process of determining who is renting your units.
The result, of course, can be catastrophic. And in many states, when there is a problem with the tenant, it requires the property owner to evict both the original and the subletting tenants separately to have them removed from the property.
Make sure your lease specifically prohibits subletting and lease assignments; otherwise, in most states a tenant will be allowed to do so without your consent. And that is something no rental property owner can afford to let happen.
