Laws regarding subletting in Alberta

[Jets4Life]

Hello.

I rented an apartment starting in September with a one year lease. However, I recently learned there is an excellent chance I will be transferred to Calgary in March. I inquired about subleasing my apartment, but he told me he does not allow tenants to sublease, and that he deducts a $300.00 fee so that he can sublet the apartment with his agency.

My question is can he charge this fee, even though I would easily be able to get people to take over my lease that have good credit history and references? In a province that I resided in before, the landlord must have reasonable grounds to refuse a sublet. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[squiggs96]

You can sublet your apartment if you get written consent from your landlord to sublet. A landlord can only refuse on reasonable grounds and must give you the reasons in writing. What is reasonable will differ from case to case. If your landlord does not answer your request within 14 days, you are entitled to assume consent has been given. Your landlord cannot charge you a fee for requesting consent to sublet.

Look up the Alberta Residential Tenancy Act.

[Jets4Life]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

You can sublet your apartment if you get written consent from your landlord to sublet. A landlord can only refuse on reasonable grounds and must give you the reasons in writing. What is reasonable will differ from case to case. If your landlord does not answer your request within 14 days, you are entitled to assume consent has been given. Your landlord cannot charge you a fee for requesting consent to sublet.

Look up the Alberta Residential Tenancy Act.

Thanks. I had talked to him over the phone Thursday, and he said that I was not allowed to sublet, and that his agency deals with all subleasing. He denied my request , and said he will charge a mandatory $300.00 for a 'fee' for subleasing. it doesn't really make sense, since I have little incentive to clean the place, as I will be spending money on cleaning supplies for appliances, etc. and putting in several hours time at it, while only receiving max. $125.00 back (excluding deductions, if there are any).

It does not really make sense since I've heard of bad tenants damaging their suite to the point that the deposit does not cover the damage. I have several references from the past landlords indicating that I paid in full at the first of every month, with no problems. Yet there is a possibility that I could end up receiving virtually nothing (I was moving a furniture item two months ago, and accidentally cracked the bottom of one of the vertical blinds, which I am not sure where I can get it replaced).

Thanks for the advice. I will double check with the Residential Tenancy of Alberta on Monday, I guess.

[BlackArcher101]

The Residential Tenancies Act says this in regards to your situation:

Assignment and sublease
22(2) A landlord shall not refuse consent to an assignment or sublease unless there are reasonable grounds for the refusal.
(4) If a landlord does not respond to a request for a consent within 14 days after receiving the request, the landlord is deemed to have given consent.
(5) A landlord who refuses to give consent shall provide the tenant who requested consent with written reasons for the refusal.
(6) A landlord shall not charge a fee or other consideration for giving consent to an assignment or sublease.



In summary:
1. If they don't allow you to sublease, it must be on reasonable grounds. I guess the definition of reasonable is up in the air.
2. They must give a written list for the reasons to deny consent.
3. If consent is given, they can't charge you a fee.

This $300 fee, does this break your current rental agreement (making it an assignment) or is your name still on it then (sublease)?

[Five-hole]

I checked the RTDRS website and it's not one of the sorts of situations they handle. It seems to me the long and short of it is, you could potentially challenge the landlord's lack of consent as being unreasonable or arbitrary (even if in your lease there is an unconditional prohibition on subletting or assignment) but it'll probably end up costing you more than the $300 fee he wants, which is probably a calculated risk on his part.

My suggestion is just cough up the fee, or talk to a lawyer (which I am not).

[ranchlandsselling]

I thought that even during a fixed term lease the landlord had the obligation to try to replace you as a tenant with best efforts if you wanted to end your lease?

Screw the subletting, tell him you're breaking your lease and vacating said premises. You'll be on the hook for rent, but he's required to put forward his best efforts in finding a tenant. Given the rental market in Alberta is quite good, unless you entered into a terrible rental rate he should be able to find a replacement.

Can anyone support what I remember? Is it accurate?

[Jets4Life]

Originally Posted by ranchlandsselling

I thought that even during a fixed term lease the landlord had the obligation to try to replace you as a tenant with best efforts if you wanted to end your lease?

Screw the subletting, tell him you're breaking your lease and vacating said premises. You'll be on the hook for rent, but he's required to put forward his best efforts in finding a tenant. Given the rental market in Alberta is quite good, unless you entered into a terrible rental rate he should be able to find a replacement.

Can anyone support what I remember? Is it accurate?

Interesting. I am almost tempted to do this. It seems unreasonable and in poor taste to charge so much for subletting, when I could easily place an ad on craigslist/kijiji, and have 5 applications on my suite by next week. I will speak with a lawyer and see what he says.

[Sylvanfan]

Is this transfer mandatory? Perhaps your company has a HR department who can help you out with this matter? If they are asking you to move, maybe they can look into any costs you will incur to accept the move.

[Jets4Life]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Is this transfer mandatory? Perhaps your company has a HR department who can help you out with this matter? If they are asking you to move, maybe they can look into any costs you will incur to accept the move.

That's a good idea. Thanks.

PS...I wonder what constitutes "reasonable grounds," as to refusing a request to sublet an apartment.

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by Jets4Life

That's a good idea. Thanks.

PS...I wonder what constitutes "reasonable grounds," as to refusing a request to sublet an apartment.

I believe it would be the same as any application he were to take on his own.

For example if you find a tenant and your landlord does credit/back ground checks and the guy doesn't have a job and has horrible credit then the landlord is allowed to say no to that person

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by ranchlandsselling

I thought that even during a fixed term lease the landlord had the obligation to try to replace you as a tenant with best efforts if you wanted to end your lease?

Screw the subletting, tell him you're breaking your lease and vacating said premises. You'll be on the hook for rent, but he's required to put forward his best efforts in finding a tenant. Given the rental market in Alberta is quite good, unless you entered into a terrible rental rate he should be able to find a replacement.

Can anyone support what I remember? Is it accurate?

It is true, but depending on the person, they might not care.

My experience with this, is my sister in law moved from her rental (due to an abusive spouse) and when he stopped paying rent, the rental company 'tried to rent it out' but from my understanding they rented all other units on the property before they even showed hers. They finally rented it the last month before the lease was up.

Bottom line, the random fees they charged more than made up for any savings they experienced from the last month.