Subletting (podnájem)

When a tenant needs your consent

If the tenant genuinely lives in the flat on a permanent basis, they can sublet part of it even without your consent. However, the rules on the household also apply by analogy. The contract may require your consent before anyone other than a close person moves in, and the tenant must notify you of any change in the number of occupants. Relying on the first sentence of the section alone isn’t enough. The connection is set out in § 2274 and § 2272.

If the tenant does not live in the flat permanently themselves, they need your consent to sublet the whole flat or any part of it. Both the request and the consent should be in writing. If you fail to respond to the request within one month, the law, under specified conditions, deems consent to have been given. This does not apply if your contract prohibits subletting. The conditions are laid down in § 2275.

“Lives permanently” means actually living there, not just having the address on an ID card. An ordinary visit is not yet a sublet.

Why the main lease matters

A sublet ends no later than the end of the lease. The tenant must inform the subtenant of the relevant facts, including the end date. The subtenant should therefore check in advance how long, and on what terms, the tenant is entitled to use the flat. The link is established by § 2277 and § 2278.

To illustrate: the offer is signed by someone who is only renting the flat themselves until the end of the year. Their promise of a two-year sublet won’t secure housing once the main lease has ended. Before signing, it’s therefore more important to check the main lease and the right to sublet than what the document is called.