Before assigning property under a sublease, it is important to know what you, as a tenant, could be liable for.
The first step for a tenant looking to sublease is to read the original lease from the landlord. This likely will have a lot of the information on what is and is not allowed in terms of subleasing. Usually, leases will say that a sublease must be done with the owner’s consent, according to the Michigan Legislature. If the lease contains nothing about informing the landlord of a sublease, then the tenant should be free to find a subtenant without notifying the landlord, the Michigan Legislature explained.
According to the Michigan Legislature, in a tenant-subtenant relationship, the original tenant usually becomes the landlord to the subtenant. This means that all landlord-related laws apply to the tenant, with the exception of maintenance and repairs, the Michigan Legislature said.
Under the Michigan statute, Mich. Comp. Laws Serv. § 554.131 (LexisNexis, Lexis Advance through 2017 Public Act 42),
“Every person in possession of land, out of which any rent is due, whether it was originally demised in fee, or for any other estate of freehold, or for any term of years, shall be liable for the amount or proportion of rent due from the land in his possession, although it be only a part of what was originally demised.”
However, according to the Michigan Legislature, the original tenant could be responsible for a subtenant’s missed fees or payments on the property. This information could be set forth in the original lease.
Since it is possible for original tenant to be responsible for what the subtenant does or does not do, it is best to get a written agreement between the tenant and subtenant, and possibly a security deposit. It is important to clarify what responsibilities the subtenant will have while under the sublease. This is something an attorney can help with.