Subletting Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Illinois law says, what's specific to Chicago - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- A covered Chicago landlord must accept a reasonable sublease you propose (Chicago Mun. Code § 5-12-120).
- The same section bars any additional fee or charge for the sublease.
- The ordinance sets no fixed number of days for your landlord to answer.
- Owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer, dorms, shelters and most hotels and rooming houses are not covered.
- Where a lease requires approval but names no standard, Illinois courts have held consent may not be unreasonably withheld.
Understanding the Subletting Clause
This page is for Chicago renters who want to sublet, or who are about to sign a lease with a subletting clause. Start with one question: is your building covered by the city's ordinance?
In a covered building, the landlord has to take a reasonable subtenant and cannot charge you for the swap. Outside it, your lease does most of the work.
Either way, the ordinance sets no deadline for an answer. A reply date in your lease or in your written request gives you one.
What renters assume
If my lease says no subletting without written consent, my landlord can refuse for any reason, or for no reason at all.
What is actually true
In a building covered by the RLTO, your landlord must accept a reasonable sublease (§ 5-12-120). Where a lease requires approval but names no standard, Illinois courts have held consent may not be unreasonably withheld.
The bars hide the real story here. Illinois shows no deadline next to Texas and Georgia, but those states let a landlord refuse flat out, while a covered Chicago landlord has to take a reasonable sublease and charge nothing for it.
Sublet Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Chicago, IL
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
18. (A) Assignment, subletting.—Except as provided by § 226-b of the Real Property Law of New York, the Tenant shall not assign the lease, nor sublet the Apartment, or permit the Apartment or any part thereof to be used by any one other than Tenant or members of the immediate family of Tenant, without the prior written consent of Owner in each case, if the Lease is assigned, or if the Apartment is sublet or occupied by anybody other than Tenant or Tenant’s immediate family.
Quoted from the published opinion in Conrad v. Third Sutton Realty Co., 81 A.D.2d 50 (1st Dep't 1981). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
“18. (A) Assignment, subletting.”
Two different transactions under one heading, and Chicago's ordinance is written about one of them. The RLTO duty is to accept a reasonable sublease - the arrangement where you stay on the lease and someone else takes the unit. An assignment hands the whole tenancy over and is meant to take you off it. Read your own heading to see which one you are actually asking for, because the protections are not identical.
See the example
“the Tenant shall not assign the lease”
In Illinois that sentence would be close to the whole answer; in Chicago it is not. Our Illinois record finds no statute granting or denying a tenant's right to sublet, so check the written lease - but Illinois courts have held that where a lease requires landlord approval and is silent on the standard, consent may not be unreasonably withheld. That is a judge-made backstop for a silent clause, and inside the city the ordinance puts a firmer one on top of it.
See the example
“in each case”
Fresh permission for every arrangement - and in Chicago, fresh permission that has to be free. RLTO § 5-12-120 bars a covered landlord from assessing any additional fee or charge for a sublease. A sublet administration fee, a re-letting charge, a per-application surcharge: none of them are consistent with the ordinance, whatever the lease calls them.
See the example
“other than Tenant or Tenant’s immediate family”
The RLTO duty on record is about the sublease a landlord must accept; nothing in it reaches who counts as family, so this line stays exactly as strong as the lease wrote it. What Chicago gives you is the standard - a reasonable sublease has to be accepted - and what it does not give you is a deadline. New York fills that gap with a 30-day clock and deemed consent; the RLTO sets no fixed number of days at all.
See the example
A landlord who gives no reason is treated as having said yes. The tenant proposed a documented sublessee; the managing agent's reply gave no reason at all - only that permission would not be granted, with an offer to let her terminate the lease instead. The Appellate Division held that a landlord who rejects a residential sublease without stating any valid reason is deemed to have consented under Real Property Law § 226-b, and that the tenant may compel acceptance of a bona fide sublessee. The court rejected the argument that release from the lease was the tenant's only remedy: in a housing shortage, that reading would leave a tenant with a meaningless right to surrender. Read the panel accurately - a divided panel affirmed, three judges adopting the rationale below, while two concurred separately on a narrower reading of § 226-b (2) and expressly declined to say what happens when a landlord does state reasons that turn out to be unreasonable. One of them noted that this lease carried no provision that consent would not unreasonably be withheld, which is why the statute had to do all the work. Read it with its date, too: this construes § 226-b before its substantial 1983 amendment. The deemed-consent result still tracks current § 226-b (2) (c), but today's statute also expressly lets a tenant sublet where consent is unreasonably withheld - the very question the concurrence reserved. The unit was a Manhattan apartment; the words rent control and stabilization appear nowhere in the opinion. Printed above is the first sentence of paragraph 18(A); the paragraph runs on for another 107 words of non-waiver boilerplate that is not reproduced here.
How this state's law treats this clause
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Illinois Law on Subletting Clause
- Our Illinois record finds no statute that grants or denies a residential tenant the right to sublet; check what the written lease says.
- Illinois courts have held that where a lease requires landlord approval but is silent on the standard, consent may not be unreasonably withheld.
- Under Chicago's RLTO the landlord must accept a reasonable sublease proposed by the tenant and may not assess additional fees or charges for it.
- The RLTO does not cover units in owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer, most hotels and rooming houses, dorms, shelters, or owner-occupied co-ops.
Sources include Chicago Mun. Code § 5-12-120 (our Illinois record finds no state sublet statute) - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Copy and send: Before anyone moves in, once you have read your lease's subletting clause
Ask to sublet
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
Outside Chicago's ordinance, start with your written lease:
- No state sublet statute. Our Illinois record finds no statute that grants or denies a residential tenant the right to sublet. Check what your written lease says.
- Consent with no standard. Where a lease requires the landlord's approval but does not say on what basis, Illinois courts have held that consent may not be unreasonably withheld.
- A lease that says nothing. If your lease is silent on subletting, get your property manager's position in writing before you list the room.
The consent standard comes from Illinois court decisions and applies where the lease names no standard of its own. Check the current law, or get advice, before you rely on it. In a covered Chicago building, the city ordinance goes further.
What's Specific to Chicago
How Illinois compares
Landlord's deadline to answer a written sublet request, state by state
30 daysNo figureGuide coming soonYou are here
See all 25 cities as a chart
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Under Chicago Mun. Code § 5-12-120, a covered landlord must accept a reasonable sublease you propose and may not assess any additional fee or charge for it. The section names no number of days for an answer.
Check coverage first. The RLTO does not cover units in owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer, most hotels and rooming houses, dorms, shelters or owner-occupied co-ops.
Chicago has many two- and three-flats, so ask whether the owner lives in the building.
Chicago's ordinance sets no deadline for a reply. Ask for a date written into your lease before you sign.
That matches how Illinois courts read an approval clause with no stated standard. With the line in your lease, you can quote it directly.
In a covered building, your landlord may not assess any additional fee or charge for a sublease. A dollar figure here is a red flag.
A covered landlord must accept a reasonable sublease, so a flat ban clashes with § 5-12-120. Outside the RLTO, read what your lease allows.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Chicago Mun. Code § 5-12-120 (our Illinois record finds no state sublet statute), read on codelibrary.amlegal.com. American Legal Publishing's copy of the Municipal Code of Chicago is current through the Council Journal of June 17, 2026.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Sublet fee printed in the clause
A processing, administrative or sublease charge in the lease. A covered Chicago landlord may not assess any additional fee or charge for a sublease you propose.
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Rent raised on approval
A rent increase tied to approving your sublet may count as an additional charge for it, which § 5-12-120 bars in covered units. Ask about it before you sign.
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Consent at sole discretion
Wording that lets your landlord refuse for any reason or none. In a covered building, the landlord must accept a reasonable sublease.
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Sublet treated as automatic default
The clause makes any sublease a reason to end your tenancy. Get approval in writing before anyone moves in.
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No stated way to request
No address, form or method for a sublet request. With no deadline in the ordinance, send yours in writing and keep a dated copy.
Your Rights as a Chicago Tenant
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Reasonable sublease must be accepted
Chicago Mun. Code § 5-12-120 requires a covered landlord to accept a reasonable sublease you propose. Brushing off a qualified subtenant does not meet that.
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No extra charge
The same section bars any additional fee or charge for a sublease in a covered unit, whether it is called an admin fee or a processing fee.
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Consent can't be unreasonably withheld
Where your lease requires approval but sets no standard, Illinois courts have held consent may not be unreasonably withheld.
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Lease terms you can negotiate
Our Illinois record finds no statute that grants or denies a right to sublet. Your subletting clause is the place to negotiate, before you sign.
What To Do - Step by Step
Confirm the RLTO covers you
Ask whether the owner lives in the building and how many units it has. Owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer are not covered.
Read the sublet clause
Find the wording on consent, fees and how to submit a request. Note any fee printed there.
Line up a qualified subtenant
Collect income proof, ID and references first. The standard is a reasonable sublease, so bring someone your landlord has no honest reason to reject.
Send the request in writing
Email the proposed sublease, the subtenant's details and the date you want an answer by. Email gives you a dated copy.
Follow up on a schedule
Follow up weekly in the same thread and keep every copy. Do not treat silence as consent.
Call a Chicago tenant hotline
The Metropolitan Tenants Organization runs a free tenants' rights hotline. Lawyers' Committee for Better Housing and Legal Aid Chicago take RLTO cases at no cost for income-eligible renters.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Subletting rules near Illinois
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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