A California sublease agreement is a contract between an existing tenant (the master tenant) and a new occupant (the subtenant) that rents out all or part of a unit while the original lease stays in force. To do it legally, you need the landlord’s consent when your lease requires it, a written sublease that fits inside the terms of the master lease, and the required disclosures. And you need to understand one thing before you start: you remain fully responsible to the landlord for everything the subtenant does or fails to do.
Start With the Landlord’s Consent
Pull out your lease and read the sublet clause before you do anything else. California allows landlords to restrict subleasing, and most standard leases include exactly that restriction.1California Legislative Information. California Code 1995.210 – Restrictions on Transfer If your lease is silent on the subject, you can sublet freely. If it requires the landlord’s consent but doesn’t spell out a standard for granting or denying it, the law fills that gap: consent cannot be unreasonably withheld.2California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1995.210-1995.270 – Restrictions on Transfer
Reasonable grounds for a refusal include a prospective subtenant with poor credit or a documented eviction history. If a landlord denies consent and you believe the refusal is arbitrary, you carry the burden of proving unreasonableness in court. One practical point: if you make the request in writing and the landlord fails to respond with a written reason within a reasonable time, that silence can support your case.2California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1995.210-1995.270 – Restrictions on Transfer
Subleasing without consent when your lease requires it is a lease violation, and it can end in eviction. Get approval in writing, and attach that written consent as an exhibit to the sublease itself. That closes off any later argument from the landlord that they never knew.
What the Sublease Needs to Say
A sublease is its own contract between the master tenant and the subtenant, but it lives inside the master lease. It cannot give the subtenant any right the master tenant doesn’t already have, and its term cannot outlast the remaining term of the original lease. Cover these points at a minimum:
- Full legal names of both parties and the complete address of the unit. If only a room is being rented, describe that specific space.
- Exact start and end dates, falling within the master lease period.
- Monthly rent, due date, acceptable payment methods, where payment is sent, and any late fee.
- Which party pays which utilities. If any meters are shared with other units, disclose it.
- Security deposit amount, conditions for deductions, and the return timeline.
- A clause incorporating the master lease so the subtenant is bound by its rules, with a copy of the master lease attached so they actually know what those rules are.
- A reference to the landlord’s written consent, attached as an exhibit.
In rent-controlled cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland, local ordinances often limit what a master tenant can charge a subtenant. The general principle is that the rent charged should be proportional to the space the subtenant occupies. Collecting far more from subtenants than you pay the landlord invites a rent overcharge complaint at the local rent board. Check your city’s rules before setting a number.
Security Deposit Rules
California caps residential security deposits, and that cap applies when a master tenant collects one from a subtenant. The general limit is one month’s rent. A narrow exception lets a landlord who is a natural person (or an LLC whose members are all natural persons) and who owns no more than two rental properties totaling four or fewer units charge up to two months’ rent, and that exception doesn’t apply if the prospective tenant is a service member.3California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1950.5 – Security for Rental Agreement Whether a typical master tenant qualifies for that exception is debatable, so stick with one month’s rent.
When the subtenant moves out, you have 21 calendar days to return the deposit along with an itemized statement of any deductions. Deductions can cover unpaid rent, cleaning to restore move-in condition beyond normal wear and tear, and repair of damages caused by the subtenant. For tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025, the law also requires photographs of the unit at the start of tenancy and again after the tenant vacates but before repairs begin.3California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1950.5 – Security for Rental Agreement Follow the same protocol with your subtenant. Those photos are your best defense if a deduction is disputed later.
Required Disclosures
California imposes a long list of mandatory disclosures on residential rentals, and stepping into a landlord role means treating them seriously. Skipping them can undermine your ability to enforce the sublease or hold back a deposit.
The federal lead-based paint rule is the big one. If the building was built before 1978, you must give the subtenant the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home,” disclose any known lead paint hazards, and include a lead warning statement in or with the sublease. Keep a signed copy for at least three years. Short-term rentals of 100 days or fewer, housing built after 1977, and units certified lead-free by a licensed inspector are exempt.4US EPA. Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards
California layers on more: bed bug information, any known toxic mold, the Megan’s Law database notice, flood hazard zones, any death in the unit within the past three years, and any shared utility meters. The simplest approach is to ask the landlord for copies of every disclosure they gave you at the start of your tenancy and pass them through to the subtenant as attachments to the sublease.
You Stay on the Hook
This is the part most people underestimate. A sublease does not shift your obligations under the master lease to the subtenant. You remain fully responsible to the landlord for every term of the original agreement. If the subtenant stops paying, you still owe the landlord the full rent on time. If the subtenant damages the unit, the landlord looks to you. You may have a claim against the subtenant to recover what you paid, but that’s a separate fight, and it doesn’t pause what you owe the landlord in the meantime.
So vet the subtenant the way a landlord would vet you. Check rental history, verify income, and call previous landlords. California law sets a base tenant screening fee of $30 per applicant, adjusted annually for inflation; the CPI-adjusted cap sits at roughly $65.86 as of late 2025. The statute defines “landlord” as a property owner, so whether master tenants are technically bound by that cap is unsettled. Staying at or below the statutory maximum is the cautious move.
Build protections into the sublease itself. Require renter’s insurance. Include an indemnification clause making the subtenant responsible for costs arising from their conduct. State clearly that any violation of the master lease is grounds for terminating the sublease.
Sign the sublease before the subtenant takes possession. Electronic signatures carry the same legal weight as handwritten ones under California’s Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.5California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1633.7 Send the landlord a signed copy through certified mail or a tracked electronic method so there’s a record they were notified.
Ending the Sublease
A sublease ends automatically when its stated term expires. To continue past that date, you need a new sublease or a written extension, and the master lease must still have time left to support it.
To end it early, the options depend on how long the subtenant has been there. For a subtenant who has occupied the unit less than 12 months, standard notice periods apply: 30 days’ written notice for a month-to-month arrangement, or 60 days if the subtenant has been there a year or more. California’s Tenant Protection Act defines “tenancy” to include a sublease, so once a subtenant has continuously and lawfully occupied the unit for 12 months, you cannot terminate without just cause. Just cause splits into at-fault reasons like nonpayment or lease violations and no-fault reasons like an intent to move back in.
Several exemptions narrow this. The Act doesn’t apply to housing built within the previous 15 years, owner-occupied single-family homes where the owner rents no more than two bedrooms, or certain properties owned by individual landlords (not corporations or REITs) where the tenant received a written notice of exemption. Some of these may reach a master tenant subletting a room in a unit where they still live, depending on the property and ownership structure.
Local ordinances can add more. In Los Angeles, a subtenant not approved by the landlord can be treated as an at-fault ground for eviction under the city’s Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance. Another reason to get written consent before move-in.
If the subtenant violates the sublease or stops paying, follow the same formal eviction procedure any landlord would: serve the appropriate notice (typically a 3-day notice to pay or quit for unpaid rent), then file an unlawful detainer action if they don’t comply. Self-help eviction tactics like changing locks, shutting off utilities, or removing belongings are illegal in California no matter how bad the subtenant’s behavior is.
Whenever the sublease ends, the 21-day deposit clock starts the moment the subtenant vacates. The itemized statement, any remaining balance, and the post-move-out photos all need to be handled inside that window.3California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1950.5 – Security for Rental Agreement