How to get rid of a sub tenant.

[alex52]

I let my tenant lease out part of the property to a sub tenant.
The tenant has left for financial reason, but the sub tenant is still there and refusing to pay rent to the tenant or me.

How do I legally get rid of the sub tenant with whom I don't have a lease.

The tenant does have a six month lease with the sub tenant with 3 months remaining.

Somebody on TERB usually has an answer to life's many problems.

Thanks in advance.

 

[michael_to29]

You are in for a bad few months. To do it legally, you will have to go through the normal eviction process as if they were the tenant. Until the end of his lease you will only get their portion. You may however move someone else in (including yourself or another trusted person) to occupy the unrelated portion of the property.

Personally, I would just change the locks and let them sue for wrongful eviction since they have no direct documentation with you. It may be cheaper in the long run. You need to discuss with a lawyer.

Another option is to pay them to leave. You can expect 3 to 6 months of hassle and non-payment to go the legal route

 

[acutus]

I would advise you to hang tight for the next 3 months and hope that he doesn't wreck the place in the meantime. After the 3 months you could call the police to have a trespasser removed from your property. If the squatter looks to be a problem or is a problem you might find it useful to make some record or notes of the issues with times and dates. You other option is to file a complaint at the Landlord and Tenant Board but any action filed will cost you money( and will cost him nothing to respond/defend). Most eviction proceedings typically will take longer than 3 months. It might be best to sit tight and wait until he leaves in 90 days. I hope that this opinion is helpful. Sincerely, Jon .

 

[Butler1000]

A sub tenant?............

Can I suggest a torpedo........

 

[acutus]

Personally, I would just change the locks and let them sue for wrongful eviction since they have no direct documentation with you. It may be cheaper in the long run. You need to discuss with a lawyer.

I would advise against changing any locks (based on the information provided so far) as he may be entitled to remove your lock and replace it with one of his own. Also such action would likely generate or otherwise encourage hostile, destructive type behaviour directed towards your property. Remember, this guy is a tenant in the eyes of the law by virture of the fact that he's living in defined living space. A free one hour consultation with a lawyer who specializes in this area would be ideal, but most landlord/tenant beefs are typically handled by a paralegal. Sincerely, Jon .

 

[rhuarc29]

Seems to me the tenant is the one who should be paying you. Unless the sub-lease has a provision allowing for transfer of that responsibility to the sub tenant upon the tenant's absence. If you let the tenant off the hook, you may just have to suck it up and let the guy live there for 3 months. Other options will probably be more hassle than they're worth, and things probably won't be settled any quicker.

Now, if three months pass and the sub tenant refuses to leave, you are in a much better position, considering the sub-lease clearly dictates a time period for the residency.

 

[slidebone]

I let my tenant lease out part of the property to a sub tenant.
The tenant has left for financial reason, but the sub tenant is still there and refusing to pay rent to the tenant or me.

How do I legally get rid of the sub tenant with whom I don't have a lease.

The tenant does have a six month lease with the sub tenant with 3 months remaining.

Somebody on TERB usually has an answer to life's many problems.

Thanks in advance.

Obviously you should talk to a lawyer because you never know, it always depends on your particular facts. I'm going to throw out some ideas, but I do so mainly to encourage you to talk to a lawyer.

I had a bad subtenant once, but in another province, but I think there are some laws, especially around contracts, that might be similar from province to province:

One thing is that you have a contract with the tenant, not the subtenant. The tenant owes you the money, regardless of what the subtenant does. This is probably the same in all provinces. So, assuming you have an ok relationship with the tenant, you could just ask the tenant to pay you back when he can -- like arrange something when he is better able to pay -- and leave it to the tenant to collect from the subtenant. Your tenant won't be motivated otherwise I don't think. I don't know all your facts, but it seems to me that if the tenant did a bad job picking the subtenant (did he check references?) and arranging payment (did he at least get cheques (not perfect, but at least it's something) or preauthorized bank payments). If you picked the subtenant, then I would agree that you should be trying to collect, but I assume you didn't have any involvement.

The above may seem like an approach that is unfair to the tenant, who has maybe been more responsible than the subtenant, but it seems to me that you can avoid a perhaps needless conflict with the subtenant by making arrangements with the tenant.

If it were me, I would do that and just reason with your tenant.

Another thought I had was that I would guess that if your lease with the tenant were broken, then the lease with the subtenant would also be broken, and the subtenant would have no rights. I don't think you should do anything dishonest just to get rid of the subtenant, because that will always bite you in the ass. But if your tenant is going to be leaving anyways (again, I don't know enough about your situation), then you might as well end your contract with him. If your tenant also hasn't paid rent, then that is a good reason to end his tenancy I think. Then, I believe, once the contract with the tenant disappears, the contract with the subtenant disappears, and he has no right to be there anymore.

Again, this is just some stuff I recall from doing some reading about the law when I was in a different province. I only tell you this stuff to encourage you to talk to a lawyer, because you may actually have some recourse.

Good luck!

 

[Aardvark154]

Does the law in Ontario allow you to sue the tenant and attach assets? It would in most jurisdictions in the U.S. Of course if the tenant left for financial reasons, there may not be anything to attach.

By the way Alex any language in the Tenant's lease prohibiting sub-leasing?

 

[KBear]

You let the tenant lease the property, and assume approved the new tenant, so think you are responsible for the new tenant.

The exiting tenant is only renting part of the property. If the tenants share a kitchen and/or bathroom then this lease might fall under the Innkeepers Act, not the Residential Tenancies Act, and moving the tenant out would be fairly quick and easy. Or you could have some biker type move in to the other part of the place.

Even after the term of the lease is over, the tenant has the right to continue renting the property as a month to month tenant. There are certain rules to move the tenant out, like you or your family are moving in, non payment of rent, etc.

Best talk to lawyer who deals in rentals, or some real expert.

 

[slidebone]

You let the tenant lease the property, and assume approved the new tenant, so think you are responsible for the new tenant.

The exiting tenant is only renting part of the property. If the tenants share a kitchen and/or bathroom then this lease might fall under the Innkeepers Act, not the Residential Tenancies Act, and moving the tenant out would be fairly quick and easy. Or you could have some biker type move in to the other part of the place.

Even after the term of the lease is over, the tenant has the right to continue renting the property as a month to month tenant. There are certain rules to move the tenant out, like you or your family are moving in, non payment of rent, etc.

Best talk to lawyer who deals in rentals, or some real expert.

I don't think this is right. I think you are confusing the tenant and the subtenant. The tenant would have the right to continue month-to-month, but the subtenant would not have this right. The subtenant only has a contract with the tenant and the tenant can only grant a right to occupy the premises for a period during the tenant's lease, nothing more. At least, that's how it was when I sublet my apartment a few years ago.

 

[mandrill]

Can you control the electricity supply to the part of the house the sub tenant is in? if yes, cut him off and let the f*cker freeze. Or remove a window or something like that...surely he can't complain since he has no tenant contract with you.

DON'T DO THIS!!!!!! HOLY FUCK!!!!! YOU'LL END UP IN JAIL!!!!! AND SUED FOR A MILLION $$$.

These threads on TERB are a waste of time. Phone a lawyer. The only advice you'll get on TERB is horseshit.

I used to practice landlord-tenant law.

 

[mandrill]

Stop fucking around with this assinine goddam thread and phone Landlords' Self Help, a free Ontario Government service which helps small landlords. And enjoy it while you can. When all of our Liberal-bashing right wing ranters have their way, it's probably going to be defunded as "gravy".

http://www.landlordselfhelp.com/about_lshc/brochure_engl.pdf

http://www.landlordselfhelp.com/frontpage.asp

 

[lakebear]

A sub tenant?............

Can I suggest a torpedo........

Yes, that may work.
Maybe turn down the heat and freeze them out

 

[mandrill]

Yes, that may work.
Maybe turn down the heat and freeze them out

did you read my post just above??!! Doing that will get the guy a jail sentence.

 

[fuji]

did you read my post just above??!! Doing that will get the guy a jail sentence.

Stop ruining a thread that was headed towards being a terb classic. I was really looking forward to the follow on posts after he tried this.

 

[KBear]

I don't think this is right. I think you are confusing the tenant and the subtenant. The tenant would have the right to continue month-to-month, but the subtenant would not have this right.

The subtenant in a lease assignment would have the same rights as the tenant. The original tenant moved out permanently. Although in this case the rental to the subtenant was not really an assignment or a sublet as the property was shared for a time.

http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/Key_Information/STEL02_111482.html

"Assigning a unit means that the tenant moves out of the unit permanently and transfers their tenancy to another person. All the terms of the original rental agreement stay the same – the amount of the rent and what services are included etc. "


The right to carry on as a month to month tenant after the lease expires is a right.

http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/en/Key_Information/170036.html

"Renewing a lease

The end of a fixed term tenancy or lease does not mean that the tenant has to move out or sign a renewal or new lease in order to stay.

The lease is renewed automatically on a month-to-month basis..."


This all may not apply as the original tenant was renting out only part of the property, and the two tenants were sharing the property, ie. sharing the kitchen and bathrooms. This rental deal may fall under the Innkeepers Act, which has a much different set of rules. I don't know which Act this rental deal would fall under, I would talk to a lawyer.

Also, Leases do not have to be in writing to be enforceable by the tenant or the landlord. Leases can be implied by the tenant’s or landlord’s actions.

The OP should talk to a lawyer who deals in rentals.

 

[afterhours]

Stop ruining a thread that was headed towards being a terb classic. I was really looking forward to the follow on posts after he tried this.

people don't tend to post much from jail though

 

[sauna1701]

 

[GPIDEAL]

did you read my post just above??!! Doing that will get the guy a jail sentence.

Oagre, I'm a conservative but some of the Terbites are absolutely nuts.

@ Alex52: I'm not a lawyer but I am also a landlord although haven't faced your particular situation. Go see a lawyer FFS! Did you lease permit your tenant to sublease? If so, usually they contain a clause that the prime tenant must obtain permission from you? Also, if you have a good lease agreement with your prime tenant, the provision should state that they can't charge higher than the existing rent, and that any difference would go to you. Furthermore, your prime tenant still owes you rent unless you evicted them legally. If they absconded and subleased without permission, you can go after prime tenant for the remainder of lease term unless it's month to month. Residential tenancy law has more traps than commercial so tread carefully. GO SEE A LAWYER FFS.

 

[GPIDEAL]

Check out Some More Famous Quotes Round 2 lmao!