Subletting your room
Are you going on Erasmus or an internship and don’t want to cancel your student accommodation? Then you can choose to continue the rent and sublet your room to another student.
Subletting, what is that?
When you don’t need your room for a while, you might consider subletting it to another student.
With subletting, you remain the main tenant while renting out to a subtenant. Your subtenant pays rent to you, and you continue to pay rent to the landlord. You are also responsible for all other obligations of the rental agreement.
Subletting is, therefore, quite different from terminating your contract. In the latter case, your involvement ends completely. Different rules apply to this, and you can read more about it in this article.
Can I sublet my room?
If you are participating in an exchange program (like Erasmus) or an internship, you can generally sublet your room to another student without the landlord's permission. The landlord can only object for a valid reason, such as if the subtenant is unable to pay rent or is not a student. However, you must always inform the landlord about your plan to sublet.
In all other cases, you can only sublet your room if the landlord has given prior written consent.
How does subletting work?
- Inform your landlord. Let your landlord know about your plan to sublet. Provide them with the details of your subtenant as soon as you have found one.
- Find a subtenant. You can look for a subtenant within your own network, via Facebook and other social media, or through the student housing department of your educational institution. The international office of your college or university may also be able to share your contact details with incoming exchange students.
- Draft a sublease agreement. It is very important to create a proper sublease agreement that clearly outlines everything. To make this easier for you, Kotweb offers a free model contract for subletting your student room or studio, which you can download below.
We provide some extra explanations regarding a few articles below.
Article 4: Rent and additional costs
We strongly advise against charging more rent for the sublease than what you pay yourself. The difference between the rent you receive and what you pay, including costs, is considered a source of income for which you may need to pay taxes.
For water, energy, and internet, we recommend asking your subtenant for a fixed monthly fee, even if your main rental agreement includes advances and a final settlement. Typically, you won’t have the final settlement at the end of the sublease. Since energy prices remain relatively high, ensure you ask for enough. Encourage the subtenant to use water and energy responsibly.
Article 6: Rental deposit
To cover potential damages, you can generally ask for a rental deposit of up to 2 months' rent from the subtenant. Since the sublease period is usually relatively short, we recommend only asking for one month's rent as a deposit.
Article 7: Fire insurance
Since you remain responsible for your room, it is important that your subtenant is adequately insured against fire and related hazards. If your tenant liability in your original rental contract is covered by the landlord's insurance, it may also cover your subtenant's liability. Don’t assume this; verify it with your landlord and request proof. If the landlord’s insurance does not cover the subtenant's liability, make sure you cover it yourself. This can possibly be done through your parents' fire insurance policy, ensuring your subtenant is adequately insured.
Article 8: Condition report
Just like when signing the main rental agreement, a condition report must be made for subletting as well. This is the only way to prove that the subtenant caused damage to your room. Photos are very useful but not sufficient on their own. The condition report should also include a detailed description of the state of the room and the furniture present. More information and a sample condition report can be found here.
Article 10: Early termination
The Flemish housing rental decree does not provide a way for the landlord to terminate a rental contract early. Once you have signed the contract with your subtenant, it is binding. Even if your internship or exchange does not go ahead, you cannot back out.
Articles 11 and 12: Maintenance and repairs - Safety regulations and EPS
Articles 11 and 12 contain significant responsibilities for you as the main tenant. However, if you look at your rental contract with the landlord, you will see that they are responsible for these matters. Since there is no legal relationship between your landlord and your subtenant, you are designated as the responsible party. In practice, you are essentially the intermediary between both parties.
Since you will likely not be nearby during the sublease period, especially if you are doing an international exchange, it is important to make good arrangements with your subtenant about what to do if, for example, there is damage or repairs needed. It may be helpful to provide a contact person, such as a parent, who can be contacted by the subtenant in case an issue arises.
If you have any questions, please contact the housing department of your educational institution.
