Subletting in Ontario: your RTA rights, landlord consent, and the paperwork that protects you

What subletting means in Ontario law

Subletting is governed by section 97 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA). In plain terms: you hand the keys to someone else for a fixed period — a semester, a work contract, a long trip — while your own tenancy continues. The sublet agreement must end on a specific date, and that date must be before the end of your own rental term.

Two features define a sublet. First, it is temporary: unlike an assignment, where you transfer your tenancy permanently to someone else and walk away, a sublet ends with you coming back. You keep your right to re-occupy the unit when the sublet period is over. Second, it keeps you on the hook: the original tenant remains liable to the landlord for the rent and for the condition of the unit for the whole subtenancy (RTA s.97(4)). Your subtenant is responsible to you under the sublease — the landlord's legal relationship is still with you.

These rules apply to every kind of tenancy — fixed term, month-to-month, contractual or statutory (RTA s.97(6)). The only exception is tenants of superintendent's premises.

Assignment vs. subletting: pick the right one

Tenants constantly mix these up, and choosing the wrong one costs people money:

• Assignment (RTA s.95): permanent. The new tenant takes over your lease on the same terms; your obligations to the landlord end. Use this when you are never coming back.
• Sublet (RTA s.97): temporary. You keep the tenancy, stay liable for rent and damages, and return at the end. Use this when you are coming back.

The practical stakes: if you assign and the new tenant trashes the place, it's not your problem. If you sublet and the subtenant trashes the place, it is your problem — the landlord's claim for damage runs against you, and your only recourse is against the subtenant under the sublease. That difference is exactly why the sublease agreement itself matters so much.

Your right to sublet — and the consent rule

RTA s.97(1) is short: a tenant may sublet a rental unit to another person with the consent of the landlord. Section 97(2) then limits the landlord's power over that consent: a landlord shall not arbitrarily or unreasonably withhold consent to the sublet of a rental unit to a potential subtenant.

In practice this means the landlord gets a say, not a veto. A landlord can ask for the proposed subtenant's details and can refuse for a genuine, specific reason — a history of property damage or an inability to pay are the classic examples. What the landlord cannot do is impose a blanket ban on subletting, refuse without giving a reason, or stall forever without answering. Consent should be requested — and given — in writing, so there's a record of what was asked and what was answered.

The subletting rules cover the whole unit or part of it, and they apply whether your tenancy is fixed-term or month-to-month. What doesn't count as subletting: having a roommate or occupant move in while you still live in the unit. The LTB's Interpretation Guideline 21 confirms that a person can live as an occupant or roommate with the tenant's consent, without the landlord's permission, as long as the tenant also resides in the unit.

What the landlord can (and can't) charge you

Money is where sublet disputes often start. RTA s.97(3) sets a hard cap: a landlord may charge a tenant only for the landlord's reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in giving consent to a subletting.

A credit check on the proposed subtenant is the textbook example of a reasonable out-of-pocket expense. A flat 'sublet consent fee,' an administration charge, or a demand that you agree to a rent increase as the price of consent is not. If a landlord tries to charge more than their actual reasonable expenses, that's a charge the Act doesn't allow — note it in writing and keep the evidence.

If the landlord refuses or won't respond

You have a statutory remedy. RTA s.98 lets a tenant (or former tenant) apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for an order determining that the landlord has arbitrarily or unreasonably withheld consent to a sublet. The application must be made within one year of the refusal (s.98(2)).

If the Board finds the refusal was unreasonable, it can do one or more of the following: authorize the sublet, authorize a different sublet you propose, terminate the tenancy, or order an abatement of your rent (s.98(3)). It can also set terms and conditions, and a Board-authorized sublet has the same legal effect as if the landlord had consented (s.98(4)–(5)).

To be clear about what this section is not: Ontario's separate early-termination right for consent refusals — giving a notice of termination within 30 days of your request (RTA s.95(4), s.96) — applies to assignment refusals, not sublet refusals. For a refused sublet, the Board application under s.98 is the remedy the Act provides, and the Board can itself terminate the tenancy if the refusal was unlawful. Document everything: your written request, the subtenant's details you provided, and the landlord's response (or silence).

Your responsibilities during the subtenancy

This is the part tenants underestimate. Under RTA s.97(4), during the subtenancy you remain entitled to the benefits of your tenancy agreement — and liable to the landlord for the breaches of it. Rent is the obvious one: if your subtenant doesn't pay you, you still owe your landlord the full rent on the 1st. Damage is the expensive one: if the subtenant damages the unit, the landlord's claim runs against you, not the subtenant.

Your protection is the sublease agreement between you and the subtenant, which makes the subtenant liable to you for their breaches. That agreement is also where you set the rules: rent amount and due date, who's responsible for utilities, move-in/move-out condition, and the exact end date. A handshake deal leaves you holding all the liability with no written claim against the person who caused the loss.

One more boundary: your lease's own terms still bind the subtenant's use of the unit. If your lease bans smoking or restricts occupancy, the subtenant is bound by those terms through your sublease — put them in the agreement explicitly.

When the subtenant won't leave

RTA s.97(5) is unambiguous: a subtenant has no right to occupy the rental unit after the end of the subtenancy. If the subtenant stays anyway, either you or the landlord may apply to the Board for an order evicting the overholding subtenant — but the application must be made within 60 days after the end of the subtenancy (RTA s.101). Miss that window and the legal picture gets murkier.

You can also apply to the Board for compensation for the subtenant's use and occupation of the unit after the sublet ended, if they're still in possession when you apply (RTA s.102). And note s.99: the Act treats a tenant who has sublet as if they were the landlord for the purposes of sections 59–69 — which includes serving an N4 notice for non-payment of rent by the subtenant — as well as the compensation and damage provisions. Since September 21, 2026, the N4 notice period is 7 days for every tenancy type (previously 14 days for monthly and yearly tenancies), under the Bill 60 / Bill 97 amendment package.

Practical advice: put the end date in the sublease in bold, arrange a key return and move-out inspection in writing before the last day, and start the conversation about the subtenant's move-out plans weeks early. The eviction process is your backstop, not your plan A.

Subletting without consent: the 60-day gamble

Some tenants sublet without asking. RTA s.100 gives the landlord a sharp, time-limited response: the landlord may apply to the Board for an order terminating the tenancy and evicting the tenant and the unauthorized occupant — but the application must be made no later than 60 days after the landlord discovers the unauthorized occupancy (s.100(2)). The landlord can also claim compensation for the occupant's use of the unit (s.100(3)).

Here's the part most people miss: if the landlord discovers the situation and does nothing for 60 days, s.104(4) deems the occupation to be an assignment with the landlord's consent, effective from the date the unauthorized occupancy began. Accepting compensation for use and occupation doesn't by itself create a tenancy with the unauthorized occupant unless both sides agree (s.103(2)).

None of this makes subletting without consent a strategy. The landlord's 60-day application can end your tenancy entirely — the remedy you were trying to avoid by subletting quietly. A written consent request costs you an email; an unauthorized occupancy costs you your lease.

What a solid Ontario sublease agreement includes

Your sublease is a contract between you and the subtenant, and it should cover:

• Both parties' full names and contact details, plus a reference to your original lease (address, landlord, term)
• Exact start and end dates — the end date must fall before your own lease term ends
• Monthly rent amount, due date, and how it's paid; who pays for utilities, internet, and parking
• A condition report or photos at move-in, and the standard you'll require at move-out
• The house rules carried over from your lease (no smoking, occupancy limits, pets)
• An explicit clause that the subtenant has no right to remain after the end date, with the key-return and inspection process
• Your right to enter for inspections on proper notice, mirroring your lease terms
• Signatures from both of you — and your landlord's written consent attached

Ontario landlords can't take damage deposits (only a last month's rent deposit, under RTA s.105–106), and that applies to sublets too — don't let a sublandlord-style 'damage deposit' appear in your sublease.

Seven subletting mistakes that cost tenants money

The patterns repeat at the Board. Avoid all seven:

• Subletting without written landlord consent — risking a s.100 termination application
• A sublet end date at or past the end of your own lease — the sublet must end first
• No written sublease at all — leaving you liable for rent and damage with no documented claim against the subtenant
• Letting the landlord charge a 'consent fee' beyond reasonable out-of-pocket expenses
• Not checking whether a refusal was unreasonable — the s.98 application exists for a reason, but it has a one-year deadline
• Ignoring an overholding subtenant — the s.101 eviction application has a 60-day clock
• Forgetting you still owe rent if the subtenant doesn't pay — the landlord's claim is against you

Handled properly, a sublet is one of the most tenant-friendly features of Ontario rental law: your home waits for you, your landlord's interests are protected, and the Act backs you up if consent is withheld for no good reason. Handle it sloppily, and the same Act gives the landlord the tools to end your tenancy.