Legal Definitions - subtenant

A subtenant is an individual or entity who leasesproperty, or a portion of property, from another tenant who is already leasing that property from the original owner or landlord. In this arrangement, the subtenant's agreement is with the original tenant, not directly with the property owner.

Here are some examples to illustrate the concept of a subtenant:

• Residential Setting: Imagine Maria rents a three-bedroom house from Mr. Henderson, the homeowner. Maria then decides to rent out one of the spare bedrooms to her friend, David, to help cover the rent. In this scenario, David is the subtenant. He pays rent to Maria, who remains responsible for the full rent payment to Mr. Henderson. David's lease agreement is with Maria, not directly with Mr. Henderson.

• Commercial Office Space: A large marketing firm, "Creative Solutions Inc.," leases an entire floor of an office building from the building's owner. Finding they have more space than they currently need, Creative Solutions Inc. enters into an agreement with a small graphic design startup, "Pixel Perfect," allowing Pixel Perfect to use a dedicated section of their leased floor for a monthly fee. Pixel Perfect is the subtenant, as they are leasing space from Creative Solutions Inc. (the original tenant) rather than directly from the building owner.

• Retail Environment: "Global Groceries" has a long-term lease for a large supermarket space within a shopping mall from the mall's management company. To enhance customer experience and utilize an empty corner, Global Groceries allows a local dry cleaner, "Sparkle Cleaners," to operate a drop-off and pick-up counter within the supermarket's leased area, paying a monthly fee to Global Groceries. Sparkle Cleaners is the subtenant because they are leasing a portion of the retail space from Global Groceries (the original tenant), not directly from the mall management.