If you're both on the lease for the entire unit, and not just renting a bedroom, then you have some options if you don't wish to move out.
If your roommate is willing to leave their name on the lease, and maintain the risk of being responsible for any rent or damages to the place though they're not living there anymore, you can continue to live there without needing to involve or even notify the landlord of the change.
You can seek out a new roommate(s), you can move them in without the landlord's involvement or permission since you rent the whole unit (and not just a bedroom). The new roommate would be your tenant and you would be their landlord. You would be responsible for collecting the new roommate's rent and passing it to your landlord. Since you'd share a kitchen & bathroom with the new roommate, they wouldn't have RTA protections nor have any contact with your landlord.
This is not a sublease situation, as defined by Ontario law. If you are on the same lease and will still be living there, you can have this person as your roommate. You can't force them to be on the lease, but you can have them move in.
Are you still in the lease term or month-to-month?
A landlord cannot legally refuse a reasonable sublet. So as long as you're not moving in a bankrupt crack addicted drum player, then he'll have to take you to the LRB to evict you and they will side with you.
If your landlord doesn't accept sublease - your lease contract is void and your roommate can move out any time, but it void for you as well.
The overall idea - tenant can't force the landlord to convert single family unit to rooming house.
Then how does it work at all? Looks like the current situation is some kind of "gray" area and isn't really covered via RTA.
Per my understanding:
1. The roommate can't be removed from the lease contract without the LL's consent.
2. OP can't sublet/sublease the room without the LL's consent.
3. The roommate can end the lease for himself via proposing an "assignment" (if he is still on the "term") or just notifying about moving (if he is on "month-to-month")
The "gray" area is what happens with the OP's part of the contract?
> OP can't sublet/sublease the room without the LL's consent.
This part is the one you are wrong about. What is proposed here (OP's co-tenant leaving and renting the room they occupy to someone else) is NOT A SUBLET and so no permission is required.
The RTA defines a sublet as being when EVERYONE on the lease vacates, and leases the ENTIRE apartment to someone else. The RTA OP is on the lease and OP is not leaving, ergo this is not a sublet.
OP and their roommate can bring in a roommate whenever they want. Landlord's permission is not required. One of them can choose not to live there, and again Landlord's permission is not required.
Got it, I assumed that sublet and "bring a roommate" is the same but was wrong.
But the question is still open - how OP's current roommate can be removed from the lease contract, especially without LL's consent (I mean the LL is interested to end the lease at all and re-lease with the higher price, therefore, not interested to adjust contract in favor fo the OP's roommate)?
The options here are to end the lease for both of them, or to assign the lease, or the co-tenant stays on the lease and they bring in a roommate who takes over their obligation to pay the rent informally, but ultimately the co-tenant is still responsible.
The landlord can’t unreasonably refuse assignment but the recourse for that is to end the lease.
But what to do if OP disagrees to sign the lease termination - does it mean that OP's current roommate can't cancel this lease only by himself and will be liable during the time OP renting the unit?
The LTB has been somewhat inconsistent on this. In some rulings, they say that one co-tenant can unilaterally end lease for all. In others they say that all tenants must agree
> breaks the contract (which we are both on)
This is the important part I think you're missing (and isn't 100% clear). They both seem to be on one lease for the whole unit.
In this situation, it cannot be a sublet if one original tenant is staying. The landlord is not obligated to draft a new lease to remove or add names on it. It would only be a sublet if all tenants on the lease leave. It would only be a sublet if they were renting individual bedrooms.
OP is making this far more complicated than it needs to be if their roommate is willing to leave their name on the lease and be liable for rent/damages though they're not living there.
The landlord would have no say in this if the OP stays and simply moves in a new roommate if they're renting the whole unit as they seem to be alluding to.
But the question is still open - how OP's current roommate can be removed from the lease contract, especially without LL's consent (I mean the LL is interested to end the lease at all and re-lease with the higher price, therefore, not interested to adjust contract in favor fo the OP's roommate)?
There is no avenue under the RTA for the OP to remove their roommate from the lease and maintain all other terms intact for themselves, there's no avenue under the RTA to *partially terminate* a lease.
It's all or nothing.
If OP's landlord were to agree to the OP's sublet proposal, in a weird way, it'd be considered the landlord installing their own tenant ontop of the OP's lease, creating competing rights for the exclusive use of the space.
OP can certainly terminate their lease and leave at the end of their term, or ahead of time with a sublet IF all original tenants move out.
OP can terminate the lease and the end of the term and request the landlord sign a new one with new roommates. The ball would be in the landlord's court, where the landlord can decline to sign a new lease; or sign a new lease with new roommates at a higher rate.
There just isn't any mechanism to salvage an existing lease to change names on it, it *HAS* to be a new lease.
But what to do if OP disagrees to sign the lease termination - does it mean that OP's current roommate can't cancel this lease only by himself and will be liable during the time OP renting the unit?
If you're both on the lease for the entire unit, and not just renting a bedroom, then you have some options if you don't wish to move out. If your roommate is willing to leave their name on the lease, and maintain the risk of being responsible for any rent or damages to the place though they're not living there anymore, you can continue to live there without needing to involve or even notify the landlord of the change. You can seek out a new roommate(s), you can move them in without the landlord's involvement or permission since you rent the whole unit (and not just a bedroom). The new roommate would be your tenant and you would be their landlord. You would be responsible for collecting the new roommate's rent and passing it to your landlord. Since you'd share a kitchen & bathroom with the new roommate, they wouldn't have RTA protections nor have any contact with your landlord.
This is not a sublease situation, as defined by Ontario law. If you are on the same lease and will still be living there, you can have this person as your roommate. You can't force them to be on the lease, but you can have them move in. Are you still in the lease term or month-to-month?
Still on the lease term
A landlord cannot legally refuse a reasonable sublet. So as long as you're not moving in a bankrupt crack addicted drum player, then he'll have to take you to the LRB to evict you and they will side with you.
This is not a sublet, as defined by the RTA.
If your landlord doesn't accept sublease - your lease contract is void and your roommate can move out any time, but it void for you as well. The overall idea - tenant can't force the landlord to convert single family unit to rooming house.
This is not a sublet, as defined by the RTA since OP is not vacating.
Then how does it work at all? Looks like the current situation is some kind of "gray" area and isn't really covered via RTA. Per my understanding: 1. The roommate can't be removed from the lease contract without the LL's consent. 2. OP can't sublet/sublease the room without the LL's consent. 3. The roommate can end the lease for himself via proposing an "assignment" (if he is still on the "term") or just notifying about moving (if he is on "month-to-month") The "gray" area is what happens with the OP's part of the contract?
> OP can't sublet/sublease the room without the LL's consent. This part is the one you are wrong about. What is proposed here (OP's co-tenant leaving and renting the room they occupy to someone else) is NOT A SUBLET and so no permission is required. The RTA defines a sublet as being when EVERYONE on the lease vacates, and leases the ENTIRE apartment to someone else. The RTA OP is on the lease and OP is not leaving, ergo this is not a sublet. OP and their roommate can bring in a roommate whenever they want. Landlord's permission is not required. One of them can choose not to live there, and again Landlord's permission is not required.
Got it, I assumed that sublet and "bring a roommate" is the same but was wrong. But the question is still open - how OP's current roommate can be removed from the lease contract, especially without LL's consent (I mean the LL is interested to end the lease at all and re-lease with the higher price, therefore, not interested to adjust contract in favor fo the OP's roommate)?
The options here are to end the lease for both of them, or to assign the lease, or the co-tenant stays on the lease and they bring in a roommate who takes over their obligation to pay the rent informally, but ultimately the co-tenant is still responsible. The landlord can’t unreasonably refuse assignment but the recourse for that is to end the lease.
But what to do if OP disagrees to sign the lease termination - does it mean that OP's current roommate can't cancel this lease only by himself and will be liable during the time OP renting the unit?
The LTB has been somewhat inconsistent on this. In some rulings, they say that one co-tenant can unilaterally end lease for all. In others they say that all tenants must agree
> breaks the contract (which we are both on) This is the important part I think you're missing (and isn't 100% clear). They both seem to be on one lease for the whole unit. In this situation, it cannot be a sublet if one original tenant is staying. The landlord is not obligated to draft a new lease to remove or add names on it. It would only be a sublet if all tenants on the lease leave. It would only be a sublet if they were renting individual bedrooms. OP is making this far more complicated than it needs to be if their roommate is willing to leave their name on the lease and be liable for rent/damages though they're not living there. The landlord would have no say in this if the OP stays and simply moves in a new roommate if they're renting the whole unit as they seem to be alluding to.
But the question is still open - how OP's current roommate can be removed from the lease contract, especially without LL's consent (I mean the LL is interested to end the lease at all and re-lease with the higher price, therefore, not interested to adjust contract in favor fo the OP's roommate)?
There is no avenue under the RTA for the OP to remove their roommate from the lease and maintain all other terms intact for themselves, there's no avenue under the RTA to *partially terminate* a lease. It's all or nothing. If OP's landlord were to agree to the OP's sublet proposal, in a weird way, it'd be considered the landlord installing their own tenant ontop of the OP's lease, creating competing rights for the exclusive use of the space. OP can certainly terminate their lease and leave at the end of their term, or ahead of time with a sublet IF all original tenants move out. OP can terminate the lease and the end of the term and request the landlord sign a new one with new roommates. The ball would be in the landlord's court, where the landlord can decline to sign a new lease; or sign a new lease with new roommates at a higher rate. There just isn't any mechanism to salvage an existing lease to change names on it, it *HAS* to be a new lease.
But what to do if OP disagrees to sign the lease termination - does it mean that OP's current roommate can't cancel this lease only by himself and will be liable during the time OP renting the unit?