Anyone who wants to sublet their rented apartment must involve the landlord in their plans. Because regardless of whether a stay abroad is imminent or your partner has moved out and the apartment has become too expensive for you alone, according to Sections 540 and 553 of the German Civil Code (BGB), tenants need the landlord's permission if they want to give their living space to another person for a fixed period of time.
Basically, there are two types of subletting. If tenants merely wish to sublet part of their apartment to another person and also remain living in the apartment themselves, they are entitled to the landlord's consent. The latter may only refuse the request to sublet if there is a valid reason against the person of the subtenant. It should be noted, however, that the subtenant's inability to pay, for example, is not a good reason for refusal. This is because the rent payment to the landlord of the apartment is made by the main tenant and not by the subtenant.
The situation is different if the entire apartment is to be handed over to a subtenant for a certain period of time. In such a case, the landlord may refuse to sublet the apartment to a third party without having to give a reason. This is because the tenant has no legal right to obtain permission to sublet the entire apartment. Likewise, a landlord has a fundamental right to know who is living in his rented apartment, regardless of whether it is a room or the entire apartment. Tenants who do not inform their landlords about subletting may risk termination of the tenancy. However, in most cases, a warning is first given to stop the behavior that is in breach of the contract. If the apartment is sublet as a vacation home, a permit from the city has also been required since 2018.
Source: House and reason
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