Require Your Consent to Full and Partial Sublets

If you want to bar any sublets without your consent, make sure that your lease says the tenant can't sublet the space “or any part thereof” without your prior written consent, advises Toronto attorney Harvey M. Haber. If the lease just says that the tenant can't sublet its space without your prior written consent, you may be in for an unwelcome surprise. A tenant could try to get around the consent requirement by subletting only a part of the space, rather than the full space. And you may be unable to stop that partial sublet, Haber warns.

If you want to bar any sublets without your consent, make sure that your lease says the tenant can't sublet the space “or any part thereof” without your prior written consent, advises Toronto attorney Harvey M. Haber. If the lease just says that the tenant can't sublet its space without your prior written consent, you may be in for an unwelcome surprise. A tenant could try to get around the consent requirement by subletting only a part of the space, rather than the full space. And you may be unable to stop that partial sublet, Haber warns.

By adding “or any part thereof” (or a similar phrase), you make it clear that the tenant must get your consent to all sublets—whether it's subletting all of its space or part of it, Haber notes.

CLLI Sources

Harvey M. Haber, Q.C., LSM: Partner, Goldman Sloan Nash & Haber LLP, 250 Dundas St. W., Ste. 603, Toronto, ON M5T 2Z5; (416) 597-3392; haber@gsnh.com.

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