SUbletting

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  1. #1

    SUbletting

    Can anyone tell me, is sub letting an appartment illegal in HK, as I have been told?


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Oct 2005
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    Quote Originally Posted by claireabella:
    Can anyone tell me, is sub letting an appartment illegal in HK, as I have been told?
    Depends on who told you? I was under the impression you can unless the contract between you and the landlord expressly forbids it.

    I'd definately check with a couple of letting agents in the meantime though to confirm whether this is the case.

  3. #3

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    Not illegal in the sense that you'll be put in jail. Illegal in the sense that your contract with the landlord prohibits it.


  4. #4

    ah ok. A friend is having issues with a guy she is living with who is insisting she pay another month rent before he moves out, but I didn;t think he had much to stand on legally as there is no contract between them


  5. #5

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    A contract doesn't have to be in writing. If there is an established commercial relationship then that can become a contract for legal purposes. And in that situation, if the rent was being paid monthly then it is possible that the notice period would be regarded as one month.

    But as everyone said, it is almost certainly a breach of the written letting contract to sublet.


  6. #6

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    The standard clause in a Hong Kong tenancy agreement reads:

    "The Tenant shall not assign or sublet or part with possession of the said premises or any part thereof during the term of tenancy."

    So no it is not illegal (ie the police cannot arrest you), but your landlord can sue you for breach of contract.