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PORTLAND, Ore. – If you’ve owned Portland Oregon Rental Property for any length of time you know that you have to be ready for anything as a property owner because times change, your tenants may come and go plus you may have at least one tenant who approaches you about subletting your rental property.
In this article, we will break down subletting and offer you some information to consider if you’ve been searching for more information about subletting or have been thinking about offering it at your rental property.
What Exactly Is Subletting?
Before we break down if subletting should be considered okay or not, let’s cover the background about subletting so you can be more knowledgeable if you’ve never had a tenant ask you before if they can sublet or not.
Subletting means that your tenant will effectively lease a room, or your entire rental property, to another tenant and the reasons for subletting often vary from a tenant losing their job and being unable to continue paying rent, to them having to sublet because they are changing jobs and will be working out of the area.
If you’re not okay with the idea of your tenant subletting your Portland Oregon Rental Property then you should make sure that your lease clearly states that no subletting is allowed but, if you’re okay with subletting then you should specify that subletting is allowed only with your permission.
Should You Have Subletting Requirements?
When it comes to your Portland Rental Property you should have subletting requirements because it’s your rental property and you want to have the ability to do a background check on prospective tenants to make sure that they are qualified for renting your property.
Besides doing a background check you should also require your tenant to take pictures of the inside of the rental property before they move out so you can know the real condition your rental property was left in before your tenant sublet the rental property.
Is Trading Out Tenants Better Than Subletting?
Although sometimes it may be easier to start with a new tenant, the key to success with owning rental property is making sure that you will continue to collecting rental income from your property so subletting may be worth your while especially if you have a great tenant and they are able to sublet to someone who has similar tastes as them like a co-worker, friend, family member or associate.
Just remember to always run background checks and go through a complete screening process when subletting because it’s to make hasty decisions and taking the time to do a background check because this will save you the time, money and hassle of choosing the wrong tenant.
5 Tips For Subletting Success
- Include a clause for subleasing in your rental lease agreement.The following is a simple addition to a lease that will protect the landlord in subletting situations. (Remember, we are not lawyers and we recommend you run all lease additions past your legal counsel)
Resident shall not assign this lease, or sublet any portion of the leased premises, for any part or all of the term of this lease without prior written consent of the owner/agent.
Owner/agent agrees to release resident from this lease if resident finds a replacement resident acceptable to owner/agent, who will sign a new lease for the remaining term. Owner/agent shall exercise good faith and reasonableness in accepting a replacement resident.
- Discuss your current tenant’s timeline and remind them of your qualifying standards that all of your residents must meet.At this point, it is your tenant’s responsibility to find a new tenant, but landlord’s should assist them if absolutely necessary. Costs for advertising can be charged to your current tenant if any are incurred.
- Once potential subtenants have been found, you need to run atenant background checkto screen the applicants. As long as they meet your qualifying standards, give them your approval.
- Draft up a sublease agreement and have all parties involved sign it.This agreement will make sure that all parties are on the same page and know what is expected. Here is an example Sublease Agreement Template. Please note that some cities and states have specific ordinances pertaining to subleases. Check your local laws to make sure you are in compliance.
- Go back to business as usual.Reflect on the fact that you have a new qualified tenant and did not have to suffer any vacancy time.
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