Subletting Laws in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania laws do not provide any instructions regarding how to sublet legally, so you should follow the contents of your lease agreement. According to the renters' rights guide produced by the Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania ¹, tenants can be prohibited from subletting without landlord approval in the lease. Even if your lease is silent on the topic of subletting it is a good idea to formally request landlord approval.

Refusal of Consent to Sublet in Pennsylvania

Prior court decisions have upheld the precedent that approval of a sublet request can't be withheld unless the landlord has a reasonable reason for doing so. For example:

• Gamesa Energy USA v. Ten Penn Center, et al (2019):² Under the terms of the lease agreement for a commercial lease, the tenant was not allowed to sublet without landlord consent and this consent could not be reasonably withheld, conditioned, or delayed. When a formal request for consent was made, the landlord responded by saying that it would only approve the request if the tenant forfeited funds owed to it under another, unrelated part of the lease. The court found that the landlord did "breach the lease by unreasonably conditioning its approval of the sublease" on an unrelated demand. The court found that the tenant was entitled to damages for this breach.

Subtenant rights in Pennsylvania

According to the 1951 Tenants' Rights Act³, any person who is a sublessee is subject to the provisions of the master lease.

Related articles

[1] Know Your Rights as a Renter in Pennsylvania, Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania

[2] Gamesa Energy USA v. Ten Penn Center, et al (2019)

[3] Pennsylvania Landlord Tenant Act of 1951