sub-letting

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   The act of renting a place you rent to someone else.

   Grammar: Uncountable noun; no plural: Sub-letting is not allowed here.

   Patterns

   • sub-letting of a flat
   • sub-letting to someone
   • sub-letting rules

   The lease forbids sub-letting without the landlord's permission.

   Sub-letting can be a good way to cover rent while you travel.

   They discussed the rules on sub-letting at the tenants' meeting.

2. 2verbtransitive or intransitive

   Present participle of sublet: renting to someone else a place you rent.

   Grammar: Can take an object (sub-letting the flat) or stand alone (They are sub-letting).

   Patterns

   • sub-letting something
   • sub-letting to someone

   She is sub-letting her apartment while she studies abroad.

   They have been sub-letting the spare room for two years.

   He was sub-letting illegally and got a warning from the landlord.

Word forms

Common combinations

sub-letting agreement

They signed a sub-letting agreement for six months.

sub-letting a room

Sub-letting a room is common in big cities.

ban on sub-letting

There is a ban on sub-letting in this building.

sub-letting to students

The owner allows sub-letting to students during the summer.

Synonyms and how they differ

subleasing

Very similar, but more common in American legal and business English.

renting out

More general; you can rent out a place you own, but sub-letting means you are also a renter.

Word family

sublet verb

To rent to someone else a place you rent.

sublet noun

A place that is sublet.

subtenant noun

The person who rents from the main tenant.

Commonly confused: sub-letting or subletting?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “sub-letting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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