Am I liable for property damage caused by a sublease tenant?
Primary leaseholders remain legally responsible to the landlord for any property damage caused by a sublease tenant, even after giving notice to vacate. This ongoing liability leaves tenants vulnerable to unexpected repair costs, withheld security deposits, and further destruction by uncooperative occupants who refuse to leave.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Documenting everythingDid this help you?
- 2Planning to file a small claims lawsuit laterDid this help you?
- 3Threaten to sue for fraudDid this help you?
- 4Threaten to inform the landlord about the illegal sublet to force a deposit returnDid this help you?
- 5Fire the property manager and hire another companyDid this help you?
- 6Manage the property yourselfDid this help you?
- 7Drafting a custom contractDid this help you?
- 8Consulting a local attorney or legal aid counselorDid this help you?
- 9Insisting that the new tenant do a lease takeover instead of a subleaseDid this help you?
- 10Choosing to stay instead of sublettingDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“after we give him the 3 day notice is there anything I can do to make sure he doesn’t further damage the property?”source ↗
“I’m asking if he causes any damage after my lease am I still responsible for that”source ↗
“Hi, so I'm about to sublet my apartment for the first time and I'm getting a little scared.”source ↗
“I'm scared because it's kind of long-term (8 months) and I understand that I am still on the hook for the original lease should something go wrong.”source ↗
“How can I protect myself from getting an eviction or having to pay 2 rents for the next 8 months?”source ↗
“After I cleaned the sink, he said I ruined the finish, and now I'm worried he'll never refund the deposit I sent him.”source ↗
“Am I responsible for the repairs or should the property manager have caught this and be held responsible for not taking it out of the previous renters deposit?”source ↗
“Legit multiple holes in the carpet the size of a quarter (carpet only upstairs) they claim it’s normal wear and tear. Idk rubs me wrong.”source ↗
“Should I take action against these property managers?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 36How to get a contractor to fix damage they caused
- 3How to repair accidental damage in my apartment before landlord inspection
- 3Home insurance threatening cancellation over mandatory property repair list
- 5Neighbor AC leak caused mold and nobody is responding
- 4Inherited a house with sudden damage and no idea what to do
- 5Who pays if my personal laptop is broken at work?