Sublet request approval comes down to five questions property managers answer before saying yes or no:

1. What does the lease allow?

2. What does local law require?

3. Does the proposed subtenant pass your standard screening?

4. What stays with the original tenant?

5. What gets recorded?

In some places, such as Chicago and New York buildings with four or more units, the law limits a landlord's right to say no. So the decision starts with where the property is, as well as what the lease says.

For example: an email arrives from 7B. "I've got a six-month work assignment in Denver from March. My friend would take the apartment while I'm gone. Is that okay?"

It's the third sublet request the leasing team has had this month, across three properties. One property approved its request by email. Another said no, because "our leases don't allow subletting." The third hasn't answered yet, and the request arrived 26 days ago.

Each answer was given in good faith. Depending on where those properties are, one of them may not have been the property's to give. And if the third building is in New York, its 30 days to respond are nearly up.

What makes a sublet different?

In a sublet, the original tenant stays on the lease and stays responsible for it, while someone else lives in all or part of the unit. RIOO's guide to subletting and how it differs from subleasing covers the basics. For a property team, what matters is how a sublet compares with three situations that look similar.

The difference matters because the law can treat them differently. In New York, a landlord may refuse consent to an assignment without giving a reason. In a building with four or more units, it cannot unreasonably refuse a sublet.

The five sublet questions

1. What does the lease say?

Leases usually take one of three positions:

• subletting is prohibited

• subletting needs the landlord's written consent

• consent can't be unreasonably withheld

Start there, but don't stop there. In some cities, the lease's position is overridden by law.

2. What does local law say?

This is where portfolio teams get caught out, because the same request can have a different answer in each city.

New York's rules for public housing and some rent-regulated units are different, so check those separately. The New York Attorney General's residential tenants' rights guide sets out the state's sublet process. RIOO's guides to the Chicago RLTO and California's AB 1482 cover those rules in detail.

3. Does the subtenant pass screening?

Screen the proposed subtenant against the same criteria you use for every applicant. In Chicago, that's the law: the subtenant qualifies if they meet the criteria the landlord applies to everyone.

Where your screening criteria and local law allow them, reasonable grounds to refuse are usually business grounds, such as:

• not enough income to pay the rent

• refusing to complete an application

• poor credit

• a history of evictions

If you refuse based in whole or in part on a consumer report, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires an adverse action notice. Apply the same criteria every time, at every property.

4. What stays with the original tenant?

Approving a sublet doesn't change the lease. Make sure the original tenant understands, in writing, that they still:

• owe the rent to you, whatever arrangement they have with the subtenant

• are responsible for damage and lease violations during the sublet

• hold the security deposit relationship with you

• must end the sublet by the lease end date, or earlier

Also settle the practical details: keys and access, parking, utilities, and whether your lease requires the subtenant to carry renter's insurance.

5. What gets recorded?

The approval is a document, not an email. Record:

• the subtenant's name and contact details

• the sublet start and end dates

• the screening outcome

• the date the request arrived, and the date you answered

Add the subtenant to your occupant records, and diary the end date. A sublet that quietly runs past its end date becomes an unauthorized occupancy.

Can you charge a sublet fee?

It depends on where the property is. In Chicago, no fee may be charged for subletting at all. Elsewhere, any fee has to be allowed by the lease and by state and local law. Check before you add one.

How fast do you have to answer?

In New York buildings with four or more units, you have 30 days from the request, or from the additional information you asked for within 10 days. Silence counts as consent.

Elsewhere, the lease and local law set the timeline. Either way, a written internal deadline protects every property from the New York problem: a request that sat in someone's inbox until the answer was made for them.

Who owns each step?

What should leadership watch?

Sublet requests are a consistency test. The same request, under the same rules, should get the same answer at every property.

Two things are worth tracking:

• Time to answer. Especially in New York, where the clock decides for you if nobody else does.

• Outcomes by property. If one property approves almost every request and another refuses almost every one, find out whether the law or the habit is different.

And one control question: pick any active sublet in the portfolio. Can the team show the request date, the screening outcome, the written decision and the end date from one record? If any of those is in someone's email, the sublet is only half managed.

Where RIOO fits

RIOO is property management software built directly on NetSuite.

• Screening built in. RIOO supports tenant screening with integrated background checks and online application management, so a proposed subtenant can go through the same process as any applicant.

• Occupant records. RIOO's Contracts & Renewals tools keep detailed records of every occupant, so a subtenant can be recorded as an occupant.

• Documents and reminders. Lease agreements and related documents are stored digitally, and scheduled reminders and notifications keep key lease dates from being missed.

Note: This blog is operational guidance, not legal advice. Subletting rules differ by state, city and type of housing, and they change. Last reviewed October 2026. Confirm what applies to each property with qualified professionals.

Frequently asked questions

Q1. Can a landlord refuse a sublet request?
Often, but not everywhere. In New York buildings with four or more units, consent can't be unreasonably withheld. In Chicago, subletting can't be prohibited. Elsewhere, the lease generally controls.

Q2. Does the original tenant stay liable in a sublet?
Yes. In a sublet, the original tenant stays on the lease and remains responsible for rent, damage and lease compliance, whatever their arrangement with the subtenant.

Q3. What's the difference between subletting and assignment?
In a sublet, the original tenant keeps the lease and someone else lives there for a period. In an assignment, the new tenant takes over the rest of the lease. In New York, a landlord can refuse an assignment without giving a reason, but can't unreasonably refuse a sublet in a building with four or more units.

Q4. How long does a landlord have to respond to a sublet request in New York?
In buildings with four or more units, 30 days from the request, or from the additional information requested within 10 days, whichever is later. Not responding counts as consent.

Q5. Can a landlord charge a sublet fee?
It depends on the location. In Chicago, no fee may be charged for subletting. Elsewhere, any fee needs to be allowed by the lease and by state and local law.

Q6. Should a proposed subtenant be screened?
Yes, against the same criteria as every other applicant. If you refuse based in whole or in part on a consumer report, send an adverse action notice.

Q7. Can a tenant sublet on a short-term rental site?
Check the city first. In New York City, a sublet of under 30 days breaks state housing law regardless of the landlord's consent. Many other cities, such as Bozeman and Missoula, regulate short-term rentals separately.

Q8. What should a sublet approval include?
The subtenant's name, the start and end dates, the screening outcome, confirmation that the original tenant stays responsible under the lease, and any conditions on keys, parking, utilities or insurance.