Good Questions: Subletting Without Consent?

Soomie writes in with a lease question:
So, my roommate and I signed a one year lease together which ends in July but she wants to move out early and have someone sublet her room for the last 3-4 months of our lease. My question is, should we tell our manager and try to add this person to the lease and take my roommate off or should we just let this person move in and keep the apartment under my old roommates name? She said that she would take responsibility for any problems with the sublet but my concern is in that we live in a relatively small building with 12 units total and my manager seems to know everyone pretty much by name. Does anyone know what the consequences would be for having someone living there that is not on the lease? PLEASE HELP!

We think it goes without saying that the right thing to do is communicate clearly with your manager, perhaps offering to pay an additional month of rent ahead of time as a goodwill gesture. Breaking the trust of your manager in such a small building seems like a foolish endevour. The decision to try to slip someone in under the radar puts you and the other person in the wrong and could jeopardize your own status as renter. Your lease will state whether you are required to give the landlord prior notice. and whether failure to do so is considered a material breach per that agreement. Look for a clause that states, “the tenants agree not to assign or sublet the premises without landlord’s prior approval, which approval shall not unreasonably be delayed or withheld.” That’s probably the first place you should check and proceed from that point forward knowing what you’re responsible for.

[Creative Commons Image:Nesster]